Forbidden Guardian
by zaki-kun
Summary: new story until i can think of an update for the others... summary: "Guardians of the Fuuka Summoners must only come from Fuuka, those who are outsiders will be punished." the most prioritized law of Fuuka that would challenge both Shizuru and Natsuki.
1. Chapter 1

**a/n: **okay new story… I had this pending over a month now and I would like to thank moonshadowz for beta-ing and giving me permission to also use the albhed language from ffx/x-2. Anyway I hope you guys like this… am gonna be busy for two weeks since thesis defense will be occupying my time.

**-THIS IS SHIZNAT! **Swear whatever I may update in later chapters, I'll assure you its ShizNat ^-^

**As usual: **I don't own Mai Otome/Mai Hime or Final Fantasy X/X-2…. (coz if I did… hahaha! All hell will beak loose!)

* * *

**~FORBIDDEN GUARDIAN~**

Chapter 1: Prologue

The port of Garderobe was quiet as the day slowly comes to an end. Waves clashed at the break water, splashing the salty sea water to the nearby dock. The setting sun gave way to the light-orange scenery of the sky. Squawks of seagulls echoed throughout the port.

At the edge of the boardwalk was a little girl. The girl was not more than seven years of age; she has a long, honey colored hair that cascaded down to her waist, her creamy white skin glistened in the setting sun's rays, and her serene closed eyes expression gave her a beautiful 'picture perfect' view.

She was seated at the edge of the boardwalk, legs hanging down near the waters surface, swaying back and forth while humming a tune with her lips curved up in a smile. The sea breeze caressed her face lightly and she took a deep breath of it, taking it as a soothing blanket. Her humming continued as she had been doing over and over again for the past hours she had been at the port.

But the girl was not alone at the boardwalk. A kid, younger than herself, stood just behind her wearing a black long sleeved hoodie that covered their hair completely, a pair of brown goggles that shadowed their eyes with black tinted lens, baggy pants that has a rip on the left knee, and a pair of red and black shoes partially hidden by the pants.

The kid is the girl's friend at Garderobe. Both of them had lived in different countries. Where she had lived in the religious country of Fuuka, the kid had lived in the Machina kingdom of Garderobe.

"When are you gonna stop humming that irritating hymn?" the kid said in an annoyed tone. Lips turned into a frown and the slender brows irritably knitted in annoyance.

The hymn the girl was humming is a prayer, passed down from one high meister to another in the Fuuka temples. Such hymn can calm an enraged heart, pray to the gods', or call for the temple's protectors. A hymn that only Fuukan meister class citizen can learn.

The girl turned around, opening her crimsoned colored eyes, and looked at her friend. She stopped her humming and gave them a sweet smile that made the kid blush. "Ara~ you know you could've stopped me from humming if you just answered my question earlier. And it had been three hours since I asked you." She said in a thick foreign accent.

"Hmph! You're question is just too lame Shizuru." The kid said with a pout.

Shizuru covered her lips with her little hand and giggled seeing her friend pouting like a puppy. "Does it bother you to think about it?" she said while stifling her amusement.

"Mou! Stop making fun of me! And I find it annoying to think of the future!" The kid bleated. The hood had been blown aback by the sudden sea breeze, revealing the kid's long, midnight blue hair that was tied up in a pony-tail style, showing a young girl that had been hidden beneath the clothing.

Shizuru stood up from where she'd been sitting and approached her friend. Reaching out her petite hands to comb her friend's disarrayed hair; she offered her the sweetest smile that made her friend blush. "Ara, Ara… Natsuki's hood hads been blown away. With that out of the way, I can see her beautiful hair clearly," She said sweetly.

The young girl, named Natsuki, stepped back to avoid Shizuru's lingering hand. She looked away from her friend's sweet smile that had been making her blush and she grunted. "**Cdub daycehk sa!**(1)" Natsuki said in a foreign language.

Shizuru giggled again and stared at Natsuki's blushing reaction. "**Cu lida!**(2)"she replied back in the same language but thicker than Natsuki's fluency.

Hearing the thick accented reply, it was now Natsuki's turn to laugh. "Haha! C'mon Shiz! Don't go using Albhed on me."

Albhed, a language created in Garderobe. It is a substitution cipher that the Garderobe machine engineers had created to prevent information from leaking out to enemy countries, namely Fuuka kingdom.

"Ikezu Natsuki! She's the one who taught me Albhed and now she's insulting me on how I use it." Shizuru quickly covered her eyes and started to fake a cry. She even added her shoulder-shaking effect to make it more realistic.

Natsuki saw her friend start to cry and she stopped her laughing and panicked. She hated her crimson eyed friend crying. It's her weakness. She looked around to find something that could calm her friend, but seeing nothing, she closed the gap between her and her friend by hugging the brunette and stroke the older girl's back.

"Shh… I'm sorry Shizuru… I know you just wanted to understand my language and you taught me your own language in return…" she apologized.

True to Natsuki's words, it was Shizuru who had taught the blunette how to speak like everyone. The blunette had been raised at the Garderobe research facility dome, where her mother, the head researcher, had been working at. It was when she met the brunette whose parents had visited her mother for some advice that she learned from the brunette to speak like anyone outside the facility just to understand each other.

Natsuki held onto her friend and took a deep sigh. "I… I don't know what I want to do when I grow up."

Shizuru removed her hands away from her face and looked at her friend with tearless eyes. "Ara? Why is that my Nat-su-ki?" she playfully asked.

Natsuki blinked a few times and realized that she had just been tricked by the crimson eyed brunette. "WHAT?! YOU TRCKED ME AGAIN!" she whined, knowing that she had been tricked by Shizuru's crocodile tears.

The brunette chuckled and cupped Natsuki's cheek. "kannin na Natsuki." She apologized and just showed a soft smile.

Natsuki scratched the back of her head and blushed at the contact of Shizuru's hand onto her cheek. "I-it's okay…"

The sky had turned completely dark, leaving small specks of light filling the night sky. Shizuru looked up and admired the twinkling stars that graced the sky. Her friend had looked up as well and silently watched the blanket of darkness and twinkling lights.

"I want to be a singer…" the brunette said, breaking the silence that filled the atmosphere. A small smile graced her face, her sight wandering towards the dark horizon of the sea.

The goggled blunette faced her friend with a wide smile on her face. "That's great Shizuru! You'll be a great singer!" she said in glee. She pumped up her arm, encouraging her friend. "When that comes I'll be your number one fan! I'll even ask those old men at the sphere dome to host your concert!" she added in delight with a wide toothy smile. She knew her friend can sing and she loves hearing her sing except for the humming of the prayer awhile ago. But Shizuru sighed and raised her hand, hoping to take hold of one of the twinkling stars in the sky. Seeing this made Natsuki question her friend's action. "Shizuru?"

"I'm destined to be a Summoner." The brunette said flatly.

This caught the blunette surprised, making her childish smile falter and her brows furrow. She pulled her goggles down and revealed her emerald eyes with spiral irises that shone brightly under the moon's light. Her spiral irises are proofs that she's a Garderobe citizen who has the same type of eyes as her but none shone like clear emeralds like hers. Her emerald eyes that shows both anger and concern. "The heck?! That's absurd Shizuru!" she yelled.

"But-"

"**Hu pidc** Shizuru!(3)" Natsuki snapped. She closed her eyes and clenched her fists tightly. "That's unfair! I may be a child and know nothing of your family but I know that Summoners are being sent to fight!" she said in anger.

Shizuru sighed and looked up to the sky. She knew that Natsuki wasn't wrong. Summoners in her country, Fuuka Kingdom, are used as fighters to protect people from the enemies and monsters that lurk around the world they live in. They can control mythical beasts that are called Elementals and use them to defeat their foes.

"Natsuki… this is my fate and you know full well that I have to abide." She said in a saddened tone. She faced her blunette friend and showed a weak smile. "Aren't you the same Natsuki? You're a fated to be a Garderobe mechanic and it is your duty to protect the people you care about with those machines you call Machinas as I wanted to protect the people I love with the Elementals."

"But…"

"Shizuru! Time to go!" a woman who looked like Shizuru said from the other end of the boardwalk.

"Well I better go. I will see you tomorrow at Fuuka right?" Shizuru said as she starts to go to her mother, not waiting for her friend's answer.

Natsuki watched her friend walk towards the older brunette. Her mind worked like the propellers of a machine airship, thinking of a way to prevent her friend from having a dangerous ambition. Then it hit her. The only way for her to prevent any harm be inflicted to her friend is the most common yet hardest solution for her.

"I'LL BE YOUR GUARDIAN!" Natsuki shouted making the brunette stop on her tracks and turn around to see her with a determined look. "I decided that when I grow up I'll be the greatest guardian of yours Shizuru Viola!"

Shizuru was taken by surprise in her friend's future goal. Guardians are the protectors of Fuuka Summoners as they journey all over the world to help those who are in need. But her friend is a Garderobe citizen and an aspiring first class mechanic in their own country. It is one of the forbidden rules that have fearful punishments in the Fuuka temples to have a guardian that's outside their kingdom. It is next to the rule of having any intimate relationship between the same genders.

"Natsuki…" she whispered.

The blunette ran to her friend and held her friend's hands. "I promise you Shizuru… no matter what happens; I'll be your guardian even if those geezers at your temple forbid it!" Natsuki said with determination.

"But Natsuki… It's forbidden to have a guardian outside the Fuuka temple. The meisters will be mad." Shizuru said in concern. Her crimson eyes filled with fear of her friend being punished by the meisters of the temple.

But being a stubborn child, Natsuki shook her head to show she's determined in her decision. She held on tighter to Shizuru's hand and flashed a childish grin. "I don't care! I'll be your guardian… I'll protect you no matter what! You're my most important person ever since mama died therefore I'll protect you!"

Flattered by her friend's resolve, she just smiled at the younger girl and hugged her gently. "Ookini my Natsuki…" she whispered. She couldn't have the heart to argue with her best friend and break the blunette's determination. She decided to let it pass since she know that it was a child's goal and would be one day be replaced.

"Shizuru let's go before the meisters found out were here." Shizuru's mother called again. And with that, Shizuru gave her friend a kiss in the cheeks and left to go to her mother's side.

Natsuki watch her friend go while her hand touched the part where Shizuru kissed her. She felt her heart skip a beat when she replayed the incident again in her head. That feeling had given her more determination in becoming the guardian of grand meister's daughter. "I'll protect you… I'll protect you Shizuru and I won't let anyone stop me from doing so." She said to herself, looking at the dark sky as a shooting star passed by.

"Mutt!" yelled by a child with red hair and lime green spiral irises eyes. The child appeared to be younger than Natsuki and was running towards the blunette at great speed.

When the red head came to a stop infront of Nastuki, the blunette raised a brow and crossed her arms. "What's the matter spider?" she asked.

The red head panted and tried to regain her breath before looking at Natsuki with a coy smile. She nudges the older child's sides and winked at her. "Shizuru **fyc rana**?(4)" she asked coyly.

Natsuki's face blushed and she hit the red head in the shoulders. "**Crid ib** Nao!(5) So what if Shizuru was here? Her mother visited the facility so she's here as well." She said with an annoyed expression.

"Oh? **Oui sicd mega ran cu silr dryd oui** **ica** outsider's** myhkiyka cra dyikrd oui**.(6)" Nao teased. She is Natsuki's cousin and knows how to speak both Albhed and normal language but prefer Albhed since she thinks its cooler.

Natsuki snarled at her cousin and hit her again in the shoulder. "Not another word spider! Let's go before Midori hits us with the wrench." Nastuki said coldly. She walked past her cousin and put her goggles back on as they went on their way back to the research facility dome.

"Oh wait mutt…" Nao said, using the normal language. She grabbed her elder cousin's arm and stopped her from going inside the dome.

Natsuki stopped and looked back to her cousin with a questioning look. "What is it Nao? It's quite unlike you to use that language." She asked.

Nao snorted and punched her cousin in the gut. "Shut up! Aunt Rena was here awhile ago… saying she'll adopt us so that we can continue with our studies in Machina engineering." Nao stated happily.

But as happy as it may sound, Natsuki was already determined to be Shizuru's guardian. And to do that, she's willing to undergo extreme combat training and she has no time for engineering. "Nao… i-"

"Natsuki don't go telling me you're going to stop with Machinas? You love tampering with it!"

"But Nao…"

"No buts mutt! You'll train with Machinas just like aunt Saeko wanted us."

"But Nao! Shizuru will become Summoner at Fuuka and I want to be her guardian!" Natsuki argued.

"Guardian? But aren't those lame-os mei-whatchamacallit forbid non-Fuukan guardians?" Nao asked.

Natsuki gave her cousin a nod of a reply and slumped her shoulders down in grief. "Yeah... Oldies make such weird rules."

"Well you're a Kruger and the Kruger family don't actually follow rules so break them." Nao said nonchalantly.

"Yeah but how can I do that spider? Aunt Rena won't allow it and I definitely can't compete against those Fuukan guardians who train almost their lives to become one." Natsuki said in a hopeless tone. She was feeling pressured in what she wanted to be and she don't know how to start that goal.

Nao laughed seeing her cousin looking so hopeless. "**oui'na vihho oui ghuf dryd** (7) mutt?" she laughed.

"**drec ec y caneuic syddan cu cdub sygehk vih uv sa!**(8)" Natsuki roared, glaring at her cousin which made Nao shiver.

"H-hey easy cousin… Why don't you just be unique? Be a Machina Guardian or something? That is where you're expertise lies.." Nao said in fear of her cousin's glare.

The blunette stopped her glaring and gave her cousin a curious look. "Machina guardian?"

Nao regained her cocky composure and grinned. "Come inside my cousin and we'll plan this until that Viola is a full-pledge Summoner."

Meanwhile, an airship that's headed for Fuuka carried the daughter and wife of the grand meister. Both of them were in the cabin, resting at the grand suite that's specially made for important people.

"Ne okaa-san, what would happen if a guardian of a Summoner is an outsider?"

"The guardian would be punished of course." Her mother answered immediately as if she had predicted the question.

"What punishment would that be okaa-san?"

Shizuru's mother remained silent for a few minutes and looked at her with cold, ruby eyes. "They are to be persecuted by the Elemetals of their own Summoners." Her mother said that made her sweat coldly.

She felt her heart had been crushed upon hearing the dreaded punishment. "I-is that so okaa-san?" she asked in confirmation. Fear was now evident in her face hearing such dreadful punishment that might be placed upon her friend.

Her mother could only nod and look outside the window where the moon could be seen. "I believe that's the harsh truth my dear. I heard Kruger's daughter saying she'll be your guardian, I advise you to stop her insane idea before you two get hurt." Her mother said in a worried tone. She cares for the Kruger child since the child's mother was a good friend of hers.

"I will okaa-san... I'll definitely will." She said calmly. '_I don't want Natsuki to end up like that…'_

**

* * *

a/n:** whew! There I posted it… hmm let me know what you think guys if I should continue this or not. Oh and about the albhed, honestly I don't like to put a translation to it and it would be nice if you guys were to decode it yourselves to make it more exciting XD ahaha yeah I know I'm bad… anyway, the translations are here, let me know if I should still translate it or I'll give ya the site where to translate it yourselves ^-^

1- stop teasing me

2- so cute

3- No buts

4- was here

5- shut up

6- You must like her so much that you use outsider's language she taught you

7- you're funny you know that

8- this is a serious matter so stop making fun of me

so anyway... please review... please... oh and i know i suck in my grammar and sentence construction ^-^

~zaki-kun~


	2. Chapter 2: seperate ways

**a/n: sorry for the long delay... got some minor... hmm... metal block problems ehehe... anyway, as all of us always say, "mai hime/otome and final fantasy doesn't belong to me." **

**thanks for the reviews ehehe ^^, i hope ya guys wont get bored waiting for my updates... its really hard being an author/graduating student of an I.T course...**

**~Zaki-kun~  
**

* * *

Chapter 2: Separate ways

The next day, Shizuru had just finished her Summoner training for the day with her father and the thought of her friend had never left her mind. She was scared. Scared that if her friend was certain to be her Guardian, she would end up killing her and it's not a good thing to think about.

"Is there a problem daughter?" her father asked. Her father is the current grand Meister of Fuuka temples and also known as a strict Meister that puts the rules first. He looked at her daughter with his crimson eyes and knitted brows. "You have been pre-occupied with your training ever since we started 5 hours ago." He continued with his voice a little rough.

Shizuru felt her father's voice to be quite scary yet all her years as the grand Meister's daughter made her hide her fear with a façade smile. She just bowed her head in respect to her father and showed her façade smile. "Ara I'm fine father. I was just a little tired that's all." She perfectly lied.

Her father raised a brow and looked around. Seeing that nobody was at ears-reach, he cleared his throat and bent down to the level of his daughter. "This has nothing to do with that Garderobe kid right? Cause if that girl caused you and your training some trouble, I'll take care of it." He said in grim.

"No father, Natsuki has nothing to do with this. I'm just tired. Excuse me…" she said flatly but with a smile still on her face. She doesn't understand why her father hated her friend.

Her father stood up and fixed his maroon coloured robe, dusting off the specks of dust that had clung on it. "Very good. Just keep in mind, when you become a full-pledge Summoner when you're 18, your designated Guardian is Kanzaki's boy who is number one among the young soon-to-be Guardians. " Her father said sternly. He motioned his leave and went to the corridor which leads to his room. Shizuru could only sigh and saunter her way to her own room.

Upon arriving infront of her room, two temple maids greeted her with a wide smile. Both of them bowed before her and happily informed her about a cute visitor that's already inside her room.

"Milady, your visitor had asked us not to prepare any food for you." Said one of the maids.

"She insisted that she would give you your food inside your room. And may I add she's rather cute child especially when she requested us to leave the room for her to prepare." The other maid said in excitement.

Shizuru replied them with a smile and polite thanks. She grabbed the door handle and pulled it down to open the door. Her room is decorated with purple tapestry where the Fuuka emblem, a pink semi-closed circle with a curve tail at the end of its upper semi-closure and a dot at the middle of it. (Imagine the Hime mark), a large Narra wood armoire which held her clothing, a wooden coffee table at the centre, a king-size bed that has a purple comforter and blankets, a desk and chair, and a large glass door which leads to the balcony of the room.

She scanned her room and saw no Garderobe blunette in sight. She smiled and guessed that her visitor might be in the balcony. She went to her armoire and changed her clothes to a simple tee and shorts and she went her way to the balcony.

Entering the balcony, Shizuru saw her friend, seated at the stone railings. To her surprise, she heard a familiar song being sung by her friend. A song she usually hums and the song that all Summoners use.

Dominus Deus

exaudi nos et miserere

exaudi, Dominus

Dona nobis pacem

ET salva nos a hostibus

Salva nos, Deus

Dominus exaudi nos

Dominus miserere

dona nobis pacem

Sanctus, Gloria

The brunette smiled and started singing with her friend as she approached the singing blunette.

Dona nobis pacem

E dona eis requiem

Inter oves locum

voca me cum benedictis

Pie Jesu Domine, dona eis requiem

Dominus Deus, Sanctus, Gloria

She slowly approached her friend and wrapped her arms around the blunette's waist. "I never thought I would hear 'Salva nos' from you Natsuki, let alone in its original song and not just a hymn." she spoke out in her thick accent.

The blunette child cocked a brow and detached herself from her friend's hug. "I have no choice. I can hear the temple's choir from here and that song got stuck to my mind!" she whined and jumped off the railings and went near the marbled table and sat on the wooden chair.

Shizuru followed her friend and saw at the adjacent chair. She took a cup of tea from the table and held it for a few second before taking a few sip. She felt relaxed upon in taking her favourite hot beverage. She then looked at her friend who put a basket atop of the table and took out some containers.

"I asked Aunt Rena to taught me how to cook last night." Natsuki said happily. She took out a foil-covered bread and had strated to munch on it. "I got my Mayo-bread perfect I hope the other food would be up to your liking." She said with a mouthful of bread. She watched her friend silently took a bite of her experiment and to lady luck's grace; Shizuru didn't twitch or have any bad remarks.

"Ara! I did know that my Natsuki can cook so well. Ookini!" thebrunette showed her friend a small smile.

Natsuki grinned and pumped her arm in pride. "Haha! Nao said i should learn some survival skills if i'm going to be your Guardian." Pure happiness and determination shone on Natsuki's spiral irises eyes.

But despite of what Natsuki's determined dream is, reality still can be painful. Shizuru watch her friend smile and it somehow pricked her heart. "Natsuki..." Shizuru stood up, determined with her own decision of protecting her friend.

Natsuki looked at her friend's crimson eyes. She could see her friend having a troubled look and she instinctively stood up from her seat and walk towards Shizuru, giving her friend a warm hug. "Is there something wrong?" she asked in concern.

Shizuru was silent at the small arms of her friend. She didn't return the hug and instead she pushed Natsuki a few inches away from her. "Natsuki, i-i'm sorry but I don't want you as my guardian. I prefer Reito as my Guardian." She said painfully. Honestly, she wanted Natsuki as her guardian but rules are rules. She cannot allow herself to let her friend be punished or killed by her own hands.

"Wh-what? Did you just..." Natsuki couldn't believe what she heard. "**Pid! E fyhd du Bnudald oui **Shizuru**! **(1) and that kid who always smile?!" Natsuki said in disbelief.

The brunette sighed and placed a hand over the blunette's reddening cheek. "Kannin na Natsuki but i just want you to stay away from my Summoning or Guardians do you understand? Father had already arranged it and Reito will be my Guardian." She fakingly said coldly.

But the blunette, being a hot tempered child just swiped away Shizuru's hand over her cheek and glared at her. She felt hurt when her friend didn't want her to be a guardian. "**Meyn!**(2) I can see that you're lying!" the blunette yelled out in anger.

"Natsuki! Stop being selfish! You know that it's forbidden!"

"**E tuh'd lyna!**(3)"

"But I do!" Shizuru's eyes started to be filled with tears. Knowing Natsuki, she could assume that the child will never change her mind. "I care Natsuki! I don't want to end up killing you! Just go home and be a Machina engineer just like Aunt Saeko and never think about being a Guardian."

Natsuki gritted her teeth and clenched her small hands. "Fine! If that's how you like it then I'll be an Engineer." She said under a deep breath. She glared straight at Shizuru's tear filled eyes. "But I should warn you, once a Kruger decided on something, we do it!" she stormed back to the room and out of Shizuru's bedroom with a loud slamming noise of the door.

"I'm sorry..." Shizuru whispered, crying in silent.

Back at Natsuki, she stomped her way outside the temple and she sure wasn't feeling pleasant. She gave each and everyone she passed by a death glare and let out a low growl to those who glared back at her.

"Natsuki!" someone shouted that made Natsuki stop dead on her tracks.

"Aunt...Rena..." Natsuki whispered as she saw her Aunt running after her.

Her Aunt Rena had adopted her and Nao since Saeko Kruger died from a Laboratory explosion. Rena hurriedly went to Natsuki and picked the child up in her arms. "Mou Natsuki, why did you leave the temple without me? You know Fuuka is a big place and I don't want you getting lost." Rena said, lecturing Natsuki like a real mother.

Natsuki felt her sadness bursting out and she snuggled closer to her aunt. The loving aunt knew that her niece was very troubled and she decided to just let the child cry at her arms. "Natsuki, do you like Shizuru-chan? Is that why I heard you and Nao-chan talking about being a Guardian?" Rena asked. Her question was answered by a small nod from Natsuki and a tightening hug.

"Natsuki... you know everything in this place is governed by rules. And unfortunately, Shizuru-chan is bound to those rules."

Natsuki raised her head to look at her aunt. Tears welling uo in her emerald eyes and both small hands are gripped at Rena's clothes. "Rules are lame auntie! I like Shizuru that's why I want to be her Guardian." Her brows are knitted together, trying to give her aunt a death glare.

"Rules are the things that keep everything in order my niece." Rena gently place Natsuki down and she knelt to the level of the blunette and wiped away the tears. "Understand her Natsuki. Now shall we get back inside and you should apologize to Shizuru for shouting at her?" Rena smiled at Natsuki.

The blunette used her wrist to wipe away the remaining tears and nodded her head. When her aunt stood up, she followed her back to the temple. When she got back to Shizuru's room, she saw her friend with Reito Kanzaki, an uprising child that is said to be the future greatest Guardian, showing Shizuru a black magic that obvious had been taught to him by the mages in the Guardian training center. She clenched her fist and knocked at the open door that leads to the balcony.

Shizuru, who was internally bored seeing Reito show off his magic, was glad when she heard the knock and saw her blunette friend came back from running away. She was tired of keeping a facade smile towards Reito and since Natsuki had came back; she can rest her forced smile and put up a real smile.

"Natsuki!" the brunette happily said. She walked towards her friend and gave Natsuki a hug.

Natsuki stiffen at the hug, not expecting the sudden personal space intrusion of her friend. But after a few seconds of recuperating from the shock, she loosened up and scratched the side of her temples with one eye closed. "Mou Shizuru, quit hugging me. And that toothpaste model wanna be is staring at us with his freaky smile!" Natsuki said, squirming away from Shizuru's hug.

"Ah it's quite alright Kruger-san. Milady Shizuru was so worried about you awhile ago." Reito said as he flashed his toothy smile to Natsuki. He's Reito Kanzaki, same age as Shizuru. He's the son of the guardian that once served Shizuru's father and thus giving him the title of a 'prodigy' due to his bloodline and talents.

Shizuru had released Natsuki from her hug and she adjusted her clothes aswell as her blunette friend. She pulled Natsuki back to the table and held her hand tightly. "Natsuki i'm sorry about earlier." She apologized, her head hung low.

Natsuki smiled a little and shook her head. "No need. Auntie told me it's my fault. So sorry and I came back to say that I have to go now, bye Shizuru." Natsuki replied. After apologizing, she walked past Reito but stopped. She looked at him and clenched her hand. "**E'mm dnyeh yht uha tyo pa cdnuhkan dryh oui**. (4)" She whispered, leaving a very confused Reito who couldn't understand a thing Natsuki had said.

* * *

Years had pass by and the war of Garderobe and Fuuka had been put to an end by none other than the high Summoner Shizuru Viola, soon-to-be head of the Fuukan temples. But not only is she the top Summoner from Fuuka, she's currently the most popular singer there is. Her singing gave boost to her summoning ability, thus giving her more power to call forth different elementals. But her pilgrimage to find the one, true Elemental for her is still not finished for she can't find the said Elemental and danger lurks to cross the far end of the world, Zanarkand.

"Your performance was excellent Milady Shizuru." Said Shizuru's only guardian, Reito. He's been Shizuru's only guardian for nobody was qualified enough to protect Shizuru. He's a sword mage and has the record of no loss at any fights he had been through, perfect guardian for a Summoner such as Shizuru. "These Garderobe citizens are really a huge fan of yours milady. They even let you perform at this grand sphere dome." He praised.

Shizuru had grown up beautifully. She wore a long, flowing, purple pleated skirt, a large slit up one side, were her knee high, black lace up boots could be visible. Her white kimono top folded over a black bikini, and a huge yellow bow cinched her waist, adorned with pink and green and purple flowers, little beads swinging from it. Her detached kimono sleeves were white, fading into lilac, then pink, then purple. A necklace with an emerald pendant was laced around neck.

She had just finished her concert at the sphere dome which was fortunate of her that the Machina engineers who manage the dome allowed her. "Being here brings alot of memories." Shizuru said. She walked towards the wall high glass panel that shows the whole Garderobe's evening scenery.

Reito walked towards his charge and encircled his arms around Shizuru's waist and hung his head at the brunette's shoulder. "Are you still thinking about Kruger-san?" he asked.

Shizuru ignored Reito's hug as she placed her left hand at the glass. It had been five years since she last saw Natsuki. She had heard the news that Natsuki and her cousin Nao had been exiled from Garderobe Machina facilities for making dangerous Machinas and for arguing at the chief engineers, as the reports say. And with that span of time, she had realized how Natsuki was very important to her. How the blunette always create machines that could make her smile besides those that could actually act as a defence system.

Her train of thoughts and Reito's hugging moment was put to a stop when a knock was heard. Reito had detached himself from Shizuru and went towards the metal door to see who had intruded his alone time with Shizuru. He opened the door and saw a man carrying a bouquet of violet lilacs.

"Delivery for high Summoner Shizuru. Please sign here." The man said boredly as he presented the clipboard to be signed. Reito flashed one of his smiles and signed on the paper. After signing, the man gave the flowers to Reito and left.

"Hmm must be from a fan milady. There's a card that didn't tell the name." Reito said looking at the small card that's sticking out from the flowers. He took the card in one hand and read the message. "Hope those old men did a good job in giving you a VIP treatment. Nice song by the way."Reito read out loud.

Shizuru turned her attention to Reito when she heard what the card contained. She couldn't shake off the feeling of being a little excited. With a facade smile on her face, she gracefully walked towards Reito and took the flowers from him. "Ara, whoever sent this knew how much I adore this violet Lilacs." She said in her sweet Kyoto-ben accent. She already knew who had sent the flowers by the rarity of its kind.

Reito chuckled. "Well milady, everyone who is your fan knows that your favourite flower is violet Lilac."

But Shizuru just giggled and gently shook her head. She carefully hugged the flowers close to her and savoured its sweet scent. "Yes, Reito is right but these violet Lilacs are my favourite. This type of violet Lilacs grows only in a cave near mount Gagazet and only one person knows where it is." Shizuru looked out to the window and silently said a thank you to no one.

**Meanwhile**

"Pup! **Rinno ib! Fa ryja y haf zup pylg yd** Rin's** ykahlo! **(5) The concert is over so let's go!" a red headed goggle wearing girl said to her companion. She was wearing a long sleeved fitted red polo that matches her skinny jeans and black shoes.

"Shut up spider! I'll be there! But before that, I want to sign up to this small contest that these old men are trying to put up. Heh! It's worth five hundred thousand Gil as first prize!" the red head's companion said. Just like the red head, the waist-long haired blunette was also wearing black tinted goggles that hid her eyes. She was wearing a sleeve-less white blouse with a black coat that's decorated with small belts around the long sleeves, a pair of black rugged jeans that has a few rips, and a pair of black sneakers.

Both of them are stood on top of the sphere dome where they can see the whole stage. The red head has some green metallic gloves with red sharp nails while the blunette carried a shoulder-length metal case on her back. The two grinned at each other and they both readied themselves to take a huge jump down inside the sphere dome to participate in the upcoming contest.

"This will be fun!" yelled the blunette as the two of them was falling down to the center stage.

* * *

**a/n: salva nos is Yuki Kajiura's work. and she's one of my favorite composer! yeah Yuki! ehehe.. You guys should expect Yuki's songs and Nobou Uematsu's work since im a huge fan of the two of them ^^, **

Albhed Translations:

1. But! I want to Protect you But! I want to Protect you

2. Liar!

3. I don't care!

4. I'll train and one day be stronger than you.

5. Hurry up! We have a new job back at Rin's agency!


	3. Chapter 3: 7 years

Chapter 3: After 7 years

"Are you watching this folks?! Two beauties are just a match away from the 500 grand Gil!" the announcer's voice boomed from the gigantic speakers that surrounds the whole sphere stadium. The crowd cheered afterwards, jumping up and down from their seats due to excitement. "The best Machina Raiders and the beauties of the battle dome are undefeatable!"

The red head snicker as she waved her hands to the crowd who were cheering for them. Her hands full of blood from the monsters they had slain from the event battle while her cousin was just standing beside her, smiling proudly at the corpse of the monster they had just killed. At her hands held two small silver pistols that she had used to kill the monster together with her cousin. They went to the locker room to get ready for their next opponent.

"I must hand it to you mutt; this would the easiest money we ever had in weeks! I bet we can't get this much on three days when we work at Rin's!" the red head said in delight, wiping off the blood from her mechanical knife.

The blunette carefully placed her pistols back to her case and she grinned at her red headed cousin. "We still need to get back to Rin if we ever want to have a stable job. Haha! But I must agree, this is so easy!" the blunette said. She took off her coat and revealed a pair of forearm's length black arm guards. "Man, each and every match, these things gets so annoying." She complained, rubbing her right arm guard lightly.

The red head giggled and slapped her cousin at the back, making the blunette glare at her. "You still not used to that? What about the ones on your legs? Those are double compared to your arms. Don't tell me you can't handle them anymore? You've been wearing them and upgrading them ever since we decided to train."

The blunette took her cousin's words as a friendly insult and she just stood up and stretched her body. "Yeah right, as if that would happened. How about you spider? The wrist bands hidden under your sleeves, the ankle bands and your knife, those are the same as mine. Aww, are you scared to tell me you can't handle them?" she said with a taunting smirk.

"Touché mutt!" the red head retorted and both of them ended up laughing out loud.

The two of them were laughing loudly when a knock at the door had made them stopped laughing. The blunette hastily put on her coat and waited for the door to open. They looked at the person who knocked and saw the announcer, beaming a smile at them.

"Great job out there ladies, might I say that the crowd loves you!" the announcer said with a hearty laugh.

"We are the best in the biz old man. So what brings you here? Aren't you supposed to be out there?" the red head asked with a raise of a brow.

The announcer snickered and took out a blue sphere. He turned on the sphere and an image of high summoner Viola and her guardian had appeared, sitting at the VIP section of the dome. Seeing the image of Shizuru made the blunette's heart race. "See the high summoner's guardian? He will be the next opponent but only one of you will fight him." The announcer had turned off the sphere.

"The hell?! Why would we have to fight that toothpaste model?!" the blunette asked in surprise. She wasn't expecting to fight Reito, let alone in front of Shizuru. She and her cousin had never been seen by the two ever since they were exiled from the facility. She made sure of it.

"Those are the rules, unless you want to forfeit and if you do, you won't get any of the 500 grand. Only problem is that Kanzaki-sama still haven't seen his opponent yet." The announcer said.

Hearing what the announcer said to them, the red head placed her hand over her cousin's shoulder and smiled like a Cheshire cat. "C'mon Natsuki, give it a try! You and I both know what would be the outcome." She said in a diabolical tone. "And besides, isn't it high time that you show your face to that Viola? It has been what, seven years since you last saw her in person! Oh and we need the money." Nao added with a grin.

Natsuki sighed. She knew once her cousin had used her diabolical tone, it means that there's no way for her to get out of it. "Fine, fine we're in." she said lazily to the announcer. The announcer joyfully thanked them for not backing out, saying that the crowd will go wilder because of this and he hastily went out of the locker room. "But seriously, with that look on your face spider, it means that I'm the one who will do the dirty work." Natsuki said, pushing her goggles up to her forehead, revealing her spiral emerald colored irises.

Nao laughed and nodded her head as an answer. "Well mutt, don't overdo it okay? We don't want to embarrass that smug infront of everyone, let alone here in our beloved city." Nao said sarcastically, laughing at the fact that she was very confident that they would win.

"You and your sinister ideas. Feh~! But I like this idea." Natsuki agreed. She took out her pistols again from her metallic case, loading them with silver bullets. "Well, the show must go on!"

Back outside, Reito was already at center stage since he was asked to duel with the challengers. He couldn't decline for his reputation of being the strongest Guardian was on the line. With his right hand atop of the hilt of his blue rapier, he waved his left hand to the crowd that earned him loud cheers.

The cheering had stopped when the speaker's had boomed the voice of the announcer. "We should be honored that Kanzaki-sama had agreed to be our guest fighter for today aswell as being graced by none other than high summoner Viola. But without further stalling, I give you guys the challenger!" this time the crowd cheered louder.

At the VIP area, Shizuru watched her guardian waved at her. She like her guardian but deep inside her heart, a certain blunette was still her heart's choice of love. She sighed and waited for the whole fight to start and end, not knowing or caring who Reito will battle with since she knew her guardian was going to win.

"Now I give you, the challenger for this main event! Once the best Machina Engineer of Garderobe facility and now the greatest Raider there is; none other than the beautiful, NATSUKI KRUGER!" the announcer's voice echoed across the whole dome making the crowd go wild. But hearing the name, both Reito and Shizuru who was in the VIP area, had their eyes wide open in surprise. Both had their sight glued at the challenger's entrance, waiting for the arrival of the said challenger.

"Yo toothpaste model, am right here!" a feminine voice said from above Reito. The raven haired guardian looked up and saw Natsuki, falling down and landing perfectly infront of him with a wide grin on her face. "Long time no see personally eh Kanzaki?" Natsuki said with a wolfish grin.

Back at Shizuru, she practically leaned forward to the glass panel to look at Natsuki. Tears formed into her crimson colored eyes as she gazes upon her friend. "Natsuki…" she whispered.

Reito covered up his surprised expression by his toothy smile and a gentleman's bow towards the blunette. "My, my, it's been a long time Kruger-san. Seven years?" He asked with his wide smile. He hated Natsuki ever since they were little since the blunette had always outdone him in everything. He even heard some of the elders praise the Garderobe engineer that she has the potential to be a guardian but to their dismay, the girl is an outsider. He was happy when Natsuki had suddenly disappeared due to the exile punishment she and her cousin had received from the Garderobe facility.

But the smile had no effect towards Natsuki. She just ignored Reito's comment and took out her twin pistols. "As much as I like to stay and chat, but I have a contest to win toothpaste model. So why don't you unsheathe your weapon, if that is one, and let's finish this before my employer finds out I'm playing." She said mockingly. She then pointed her pistols to Reito and smirked.

Reito giggled as he saw the small pistols being aimed at him. He drew out his sword and bowed before Natsuki. "Shall we finish this and be on our merry way? I do want to get back with Shizuru." He jested to Natsuki. He positioned himself into a guarding stance and awaited how the blunette will make her move.

----INSERT 'Those who fight' battle music by Nobou Uematsu -------

The blunette gave put a warning shot a few inches away from Reito's boot-covered feet and smirked when the guardian jumped backward to evade the shot. "Being cautious are we?" she mocked the guardian, tapping the barrel of her pistol on top of her temple. But without a second hesitation, she began firing her pistols again towards the raven haired guardian.

Reito continued evading the gunshots from his opponent. But he noticed that not a single bullet had come in fatal range to him. "You always amaze me Kruger-san. If you were a Fuuka citizen, I bet you can be a guardian like me." He commented sarcastically. He knew that Natsuki wasn't really aiming for him.

"Feh~! I aim to get the money Kanzaki and I want to take my time. Unless you want me to end this quickly." Natsuki said as she stopped firing at Reito and stood a few meters away from him. She flicked her hair with her right hand and tapped the barrel of her pistol on her temples.

Reito took the opportunity and lunged himself towards Natsuki, thrusting his rapier towards the blunette. But his attacks were quickly dodged by the blunette like it was nothing to her. He was surprised that Natsuki had swiftly evaded his attacks. '_Darn it! How can she evade my attacks like that?' _ He questioned himself as he continues to attack the evasive blunette.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the VIP section, Shizuru watched her guardian and beloved best friend battle at the center stage. She felt herself getting nervous at each and every strike her guardian tries towards Natsuki. She knows her guardian's strength and she fears that Natsuki might get hurt badly. "Be careful Natsuki…" she whispered, placing her hand on the glass pane.

"You know Viola, for someone who had known my cousins since all of us are little; you have no faith in her."

Shizuru quickly turned around and saw Nao by the door, having a taunting smirk on her face. "Ara, it's been a long time Nao. I missed you and your cousin so much." The summoner said with her façade smile.

Nao walked towards the summoner and stopped to look at the glass panel where she can see her cousin, evading and shooting at Reito. She smiled devilishly knowing that Reito may be the best guardian that the meisters had seen, he can't be in par with Natsuki. "That flashy guardian of yours is in for a rough ride Viola. He doesn't know who he's up against." Nao said with a sly smirk.

Shizuru looked at the red head and couldn't help but tilt her head. She was still surprised and happy that after seven years, she finally saw her dear friend but on the center stage, battling her guardian. Sure she knows Natsuki can fight and some did say that the blunette was excellent but she wasn't sure if she can beat Reito.

"This is a contest where the money is higher than our usual salary so both me and my cousin are planning to take that money." Nao informed the Summoner with a sly smirk.

"Ara, is Nao and Natsuki in need of money that much that they had to join such dangerous contest?" Shizuru asked.

"OH MY GOD! KRUGER'S GUNS HAD BEEN DELFECTED AND FLUNG AWAY FROM HER HANDS AND KANZAKI-SAN TOOK ADVATAGE OF THIS OPENING!" the speakers boomed out. The announcer sounded so surprised.

Nao looked back at the battle and saw that her friend was down on one knee and her guns are not on her hands. She smirked as she watches Reito smile at her cousin as if he had won the match. "In need indeed Viola. I guess I'll be seeing you later Viola, I have a prize to claim." She said in a sinister tone. '_Way to go Kruger!'_

Back at the center stage, Natsuki was kneeling down in one knee with Reito's sword pointedat her throat. She was snarling dangerously at Reito as she saw the taunting smile of the guardian. '_This better be a great plan spider or else!'_

"I guess I won again as usual Kruger. Seven years of absence and still you couldn't defeat me." Reito said with his dashing yet taunting smile. He drew back his sword and sheathed it back.

Natsuki stood up and glared at Reito. "You're a lucky bastard Kanzaki." She looked up to the VIP section where Shizuru is watching them, looking right thru the glass and staring straight at the striking crimson orbs of the summoner. After a few seconds of staring and hearing the announcer announce her defeat, she waved at the crowd which she earned a booming cheer of both praise and adornment.

"LET'S GIVE IT UP FOR NATSUKI KRUGER AND OUR SPECIAL FIGHTER, REITO KANZAKI!"

------------INSERT FFX VICTORY FANFARE-------------------

The crowd went wild when both fighters waved at them. Natsuki didn't stick too much at the stage and she decided to head back to the lockers. But when she was side by side Reito, her brows furrowed and a small growl came out from her lips. "**Ec ed vih du feh? palyica E ramt socamv pylg**.(1)" she said as she went pass the guardian, leaving him dumfounded again with her language.

* * *

At the lockers…

Natsuki tiredly went inside, with both her eyes closed and yawning tiredly. "SPIDER! **E RUB- DRA RAMM?! **(2)" she felt a stinging pain at her left cheek. She took off her goggles and glared at the person who had hit her face. Her glare faltered and had been replaced by a surprised look when she saw a crying summoner. "Shi-zuru…" she whispered with her hand over her left cheek.

"IKEZU! IKEZU NATSUKI!" the summoner shouted, tears still running down from her eyes.

"Shizuru I-" that was her weakness. She couldn't bear to see the brunette crying so she pulled her long time friend into a hug.

"Why did you leave without telling me?!" the summoner shouted, not caring if it was un-summoner like of her.

Natsuki shook her head and pushed the summoner to face her. She took out a green handkerchief and wiped the tears away from Shizuru's face. "I'm Sorry Shizuru…" She whispered with a small hue of red across her face.

The brunette looked at her friend, tears still threatened to fall down. "Where were you? You left without a word. Even if you send those gifts during my concerts, you never showed up these past seven years!" She asked.

Natsuki could only sigh and scratch the back of her head. "I was… busy…" she said coldly. She went past Shizuru and towards her metal case, opening it slightly to put her guns back inside and closing it.

"Busy? Busy with what? Midori said you did something terrifying so they banished you and Nao from the facility."

But Natsuki remained silent. She looked at her friend and shook her head. "I did nothing terrifying. The geezers at the facility aswell as that man thought what I created was too dangerous. Tsch! Nao agreed with me and we left that fuckin' place." She defended.

Shizuru could see in those emerald orbs that her friend was telling the truth. "What exactly did you create Natsuki for you to be exiled from the facility?" she asked, slight fear was obvious in her tone. She knows that when it comes to Machina, Natsuki was the best. And if Natsuki was going to create something with the aid of her mischievous cousin, majority of the features in that Machina will be danger.

Natsuki shrugged. She doesn't want the brunette to know what she and her cousin had created. That's one of the reason she had left without telling her friend where she will be. "Something I thought can save someone." She muttered.

"YO MUTT! I got the prize so let's go before Rin gives our S-Rank jobs to some lame team like Akane's." Nao shouted as she entered the locker room, carrying a bag of money. Shizuru quickly put up her façade as soon as Nao had noticed she was there and Natsuki grabbed her case and held it behind her. "Hey Spider." Natsuki said with a slight nod.

Nao saw Shizuru with Natsuki and a sly grin had appeared on her face. She tucked the money bag on her own bag and crossed her arms as she stares at the summoner. "I see Kruger has some company. Viola, don't keep her for too long okay? We'll be going back to work." She said with a wink and left the locker room at the same time, Reito had come in, looking for his summoner.

"Shizuru! There you are!" the guardian said worriedly. He ignored Natsuki and approached his summoner, giving a curt bow before looking straight at his summoner's crimson eyes. "We're needed to perform a Sending at the Mi'hen Highroad." He said with a dashing smile.

Shizuru had put up her façade smile and beamed it towards her guardian. "Ara then we should go there at once Reito-kun." She said calmly.

Natsuki sighed when she heard that the summoner has a job to do and swung the case to her back, swinging it like it was just paper. She was ready to leave when the brunette had quickly held her arm and squeezed it. "Natsuki?" Shizuru said with a sad tone.

The blunette didn't bother to look at Shizuru. "I work at Rin's Travel and mercenary agency. If you are going to see me, just drop by there." Natsuki said, exiting the locker room.

"It seems Kruger and her cousin had planned everything out. Even if Kruger lost to me, she and her cousin had received the reward." Reito said as soon as Natsuki had left them alone. He turned his attention towards his Summoner and saw the sadden look of the brunette. "Let her go Shizuru. She has her own life to deal with and you know well that an outsider cannot be involved with us." He said, pretending that he's worried with the blunette.

Shizuru didn't verbally answer her guardian; instead she just sighed and walked out of the locker room and back to her own room. '_Rin's Travel and mercenary agency…'_

**

* * *

**

ALBHED TRANSLATION:

**1:** **Is it fun to win because I held myself back**

**2: I HOP- THE HELL?!**

**

* * *

**

**Omake: kitsune and threats**

**Natsuki and Zaki waiting at the living room for snacks…**

**Natsuki: ** Wow, I look cool! But why the heck did I lose to that toothy Kanzaki? *pointing defeat part in fic*

**Zaki-kun: ***sigh* don't complain. It's hard enough to write a fic update.

**Natsuki:** hehe, don't tell me you're missing…

**Zaki-kun: ***glares at Natsuki* Shut up Natsuki! If you dare continue that sentence, I'll make sure you get eaten by a Malboro in the next chapter. *takes out a pen and paper*

**Natsuki:** OH! The mighty coffee-addict author is threatening me… *snicker* what shall I do?

**Shizuru and Hanako_sappho-13 enters the living room, carrying tray of snacks and placed it on the coffee table.**

**Shizuru:** *sits beside Natsuki* Natsuki will leave Zaki-kun alone unless she wants me to be Natsuki-less in the next chapters. *pretend bothered look* and I think it's going to be hard since the fans will start flocking again.

**Natsuki:** O_O Fans?! Okay, fine! *pout* Sorry Natsuki…

**Zaki-kun:** hehe you're whipped…

**Natsuki:** Why you?!

**Shizuru:** Natsuki… shall I remind you that your mayo bottles are still hidden? *sinister smile*

**Natsuki: ***pout* hai…

**Shizuru:** Kawaii~! *hugs Natsuki*

**Zaki-kun:** what did I tell ya nako-hime, that natsuki's whipped! *laughing out loud*

**Hanako-sappho-13: **Hunya~! Zaki-kun should stop teasing the poor Natsuki or else your junkfood ban will be extended. *arms crossed*

**Zaki-kun: ***stops laughing* eh?! M-mou! Nako-hime…. *pout*

**Hanako-sappho-13: ***put up sad look* its okay if Zaki-kun won't follow…

**Zaki-kun: ***panic mode* a-ah! Okay I'll behave!

**Hanako-sappho-13:** *wide smile* hehe! Good to know.

**Both hanako and Shizuru giggled at zaki and Natsuki's reactions.**

**Zaki-kun & Natsuki: **kitsunes… *sigh*


	4. Chapter 4: rin's agency

**a/n: yo! Zaki's back and now with a degree diploma! yosh~! ehehe sorry for the very late update.. busy preparing for my graduation that time and looking for a job ehehe.. hope you guys haven't forgotten me,,, T-T missed reading fics and writing! **

**anyway this is the uppie for fg... hope you guys enjoy it...**

* * *

Chapter 4: Rin's Agency

Shizuru went to her room in the hotel of Garderobe. She and her guardian, Reito are exhausted from everything that happened. First was the cleansing ritual to the new Machinas that was created, then the concert and lastly, the battle with Natsuki. Natsuki. The Summoner was happy to see her friend but angry as well because it had been seven years since she saw her friend. Though her friend sent her different items when she has her concerts or when her friend found something beautiful like her precious necklace hat she received on her birthday two years ago. She unconsciously placed her hand over her necklace and sighed. '_You never change. Always running away from me.'_

The Summoner was about to enter her private suite which was next to her guardian's when Reito held her wrist gently. She looked at her wrist then at her guardian with a confused look. "Ara, is there a matter we forgot Reito?" she asked, putting up a façade smile. Her guardian looked at her straight in the eyes, his own eyes shimmering with concern. "Shizuru are you still thinking of Kruger?" He asked. But his question was not answered by his Summoner, instead, Shizuru silently bid him goodnight and went inside her room.

* * *

Meanwhile, Natsuki and Nao are walking towards the parking area of the Garderobe dome. The red head was grinning widely at their prize money while her blunette cousin was twirling a set of metal plates that's being held together by a metal ring. Both of them stopped infront of a hover bike that has a shape of a metal wolf that's sleeping and beside it was a green/yellow hover bike that the red head had approached.

"Spider, you okay with carrying the prize? Coz I can't handle anymore baggage than my own." Natsuki said, placing the metal plates on the 'head' of her bike. As if the metal plate was the soul, the bike suddenly levitated up until Natsuki's knee the golden eyes shone like it has a life.

Nao's own bike levitated but instead levitating in a horizontal position, it levitated in a vertical position. She hung the bag of prize on one of the vehicle and seated at the seat behind the vehicle. "Sure thing mutt. Now let's go before Rin cuts our salary for being late." She looked at her cousin which revved up her bike and boosted towards the exit of the parking area with her following behind.

It took them thirty minutes to travel from Garderobe dome to Rin's travel and mercenary agency that's located at the outskirts of the next city, the city of Aries. They drove their bikes to the huge wooden tavern with the sign 'Rin's Travel and Mercenary Agency'.

"Well better chain these two up before they decided to go autopilot again and wreck the city." Nao said, putting up a magical chain on her hover bike and taking out the metal plate. With a nod, Natsuki did the same as her cousin and chained her hover bike as well as taking the metal plate off. They patted their Machinas and went inside the tavern. "We're back!" the two of them said in unison. Loud sounds boomed from the soundsystem when they opened the tavern door.

---** Enter 'Otherworld' music by black mages II the skies above**. ----

They were greeted by the occupants of the tavern who were all either drinking or chatting with each other. They looked around and saw the person they wanted to report to at the bar counter.

"**Famlusa**(1)!" a man wearing a yellow blazer without any top and yellow baggy pants said with a wide flashy grin. His blond hair was down to his shoulders and was being held back by a pair of black goggles, his tanned colored skin gave him an exotic look than the rest of the people inside the tavern and his blue eyes with spiral irises showed them a gleam of hapiness.

"**Famlusa** Rin. Job's all done." The blunette said, taking out a letter and gave it to Rin.

Rin smiled at them and took the letter. He crumpled it up and threw it in the trash, knowing that he doesn't need any proof of the duo's mission being a success. "It doesn't surprise me that you two wiped out another fiend attack but it surprised me that Zhang's very giddy-looking." He said, eyeing the red head that was holding the bag of prize money. "Let me guess, my two mercs are having another part-time again?"

Nao laughed and nodded her head. "Got that right. The mutt here can really swing that thing and wield those dual pistols like nothing. I, of course am better coz of my swiftness and poisons." She grinned and took out a handful of gils and gave them to Rin.

But Natsuki had let out a loud yawn and rubbed her eyes tiredly. "A very annoying part-time. Rin, I'm off to the quarters. If anything 'S' Ranked jobs available, just call me and I'll accept it." Natsuki said in a very tired voice. She adjusted her metal case that hung on her back and went to the quarters.

"I heard the news she fought her past." Rin said as soon as Natsuki was out of hearing. He conjured up a cup of vodka and gave it to Nao who was now sitting at the bar stool.

Nao sighed and took a gulp of the vodka like it was water. "Kanzaki and Viola. I never thought we would 'Actually' see them. That mutt had to hold back because of that Kanzaki." Nao looked at her cup and took a deep sigh.

"So she saw her. Did she ask why you two disappeared from the facility?"

Nao nodded her head.

"I see."

"Well no use in reminiscing about it so am off and do my other part time job." The red head snickered and jumped off the bar stool. She left a few coins on the counter and left the tavern.

---- **end of music** ----

Back at Natsuki, she was lying down on the bed and staring at the ceiling. She was wearing a pair of white shirt and white boxers. Her arms and legs are wrapped by a black arm and shin guards. "Shizuru…" she whispered.

* * *

The next day, Natsuki was awoken by a loud crash that came from down stairs. She hurriedly took her guns from the metal case beside her and ran down, only to see her cousin pointing her sharp nails towards a smiling raven haired guardian. "NAO!" she yelled, taking her cousin's attention off the guardian.

Nao whipped her head and saw her cousin clad in her sleeping clothes. She grinned at Natsuki, forgetting the guy she's pointing her nails at. Not only her who noticed her cousin's outfit, but also the other occupants of the tavern. She gave out a taunting wolf whistle as she checked out Natsuki's creamy skin. "Nice outfit mutt. Are you trying to make everyone here die from nosebleed?"

The blunette furrowed her brows and glared at everyone who looked at her like a piece of meat. She crossed her arms and fired a warning shot from her guns. "Everyone should stop staring or else!" she warned everyone. She turned her attention back to Nao who was laughing so hard and the raven haired guardian who was now talking to Rin. "What are you doing here Kanzaki?" she asked, still glaring at Reito.

Rin took the liberty to approach Natsuki and offered her a long coat to wear before his employee starts killing everyone. "Kanzaki-sama is here together with Viola-sama who is at the reception area having tea to ask our assistance." he explained calmly.

"Assistance? For what?" the blunette asked with a quirk brow.

"Assistance or should I say, escort to the ruins of Zanarkand." Reito said with his charming smile. But Natsuki scowled and left them. She knew that the guardian's smile was fake like all the smiles she saw from him.

Everyone looked at Natsuki who left and Reito. They wondered why Natsuki acted mean towards the 'world strongest guardian'. Rin sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

"Face it Kanzaki, as I told you and argued before, the mutt will not accept that offer. Especially when it comes to being with you." Nao said with a tone of sarcasm. She was sitting on the barstool, watching the whole scene.

Reito winced a little at what Nao commented. He was going to go back to his Summoner and gladly say that they refused the offer. He was really against the idea of his Summoner that morning when they were about to depart for the next town, the idea of hiring mercenaries for their journey. But Shizuru was persuasive and what Shizuru ordered must be followed.

"Ara, then my Natsuki rejected the offer? I am willing to pay Rin-san." A woman with a thick Kyoto-ben accent said. "Or does my Natsuki still plans to avoid me for another year or so?" she added, directing her sight to the blunette who was now descending from the stairs.

**--- enter 'this is your story' by nobou uematsu ----**

"Why would I accept your offer?" Natsuki said coldly. She was now wearing a black sleeve-less fitted shirt with belts wrapped around it and a pair of black baggy pants and flat sandals. Her arm guards were visible since she wore no sleeves. "There are plenty more mercenaries here in the biz."

The brunette Summoner smiled at her friend. Considering the years of separation, she still thinks Natsuki is her friend. And to her relief, her smile was returned by a blush from the blunette. "I know Natsuki will not disagree since I am her friend after all. And idn't my dear Natsuki say that when she grows up, she'll be my guardian?"

"It is stated in the laws of Fuuka Summoners that no outsider shall be guardians to the Summoner. " Natsuki stated. What Shizuru said reminded her of her main goal. The goal which caused her banishment in the Garderobe facility and the goal which caused a huge uproar in Rin's agency. She clenched her fists, knowing that her promise when she was a child had never came true.

Reito tapped Shizuru and agreed to what the blunette said. "Mi'lady, I think Kruger-san is right. We don't want~"

"Ara who said anything about being a guardian?" Shizuru said which gained her an odd look from Natsuki. "Mr. Rin I ask for assistance to venture to the city of the Zanarkand. I did not ask to have a guardian."

Rin smiled at the Summoner and looked at Nao and Natsuki. "Clearly, lady Viola's whim is a class S mission." Rin said, hoping to catch the duo's attention.

Hearing the term 'S' rank, Nao's annoyed expression turned to a sly one. She crossed her arms and looked at Natsuki who was glaring at Rin for bringing up the rank of the mission. She knew that if it's an 'S' rank mission, her cousin will not let it pass. "Mutt, an 'S' class mission."

"Why are you here anyway Shizuru? You don't really need a mercenary since that toothpaste model is with you." Natsuki asked, taking the topic away from the mission rank. She leaned at the bar counter and looked at the smiling Shizuru and Reito who was also smiling but annoyance can be read through the smile.

"Cause Reito will be busy protecting me and there might be monsters that might be stronger." Shizuru explained.

Rin sighed and decided to put the blunette into a small trap in accepting the mission. "I guess Natsuki doesn't want the mission then I'm afraid I have to decline milady." He bowed his head in apology.

"Decline Rin-san? Why not hire someone else if Kruger and Zhang both don't want to accept the mission?" Reito asked confused to why the owner prefer to decline the offer than to give it to someone else.

Rin looked at the raven haired guardian and bowed an apology. "Forgive me but those two are the only mercs I have that can get you to Zanarkand alive and back. Trust me."

"How come Rin-san?" Shizuru asked.

Rin was about to speak when Natsuki pushed herself away from the bar counter and went in between Shizuru and Rin. A scowl was visible in her face and a low growl escape from her lips. "Fine! I'll take the mission Rin." She turned around and signaled her cousin to prepare for their mission.

Shizuru giggled when she saw Rin grinned when Natsuki accepted the mission. "I didn't expect that Rin-san can be cunning."

"I am the owner of this business lady Viola and I know how to handle and pull a few strings around my crew." Rin said, laughing out loud about his achievement.

But Reito on the other hand was curious to why Natsuki had agreed instantly when Rin mentioned Zanarkand. "Rin-san, why did you said that only Kruger and Zhang can accept that mission?" he asked curiously.

""You might want to ask Natsuki the real reason but if you want some hints, just ask around." Rin said, pointing everyone in the tavern.

Everyone raised their mugs and glasses in honor of Rin's words.

"Because those two beauties are the best in the biz!" one merc said.

"And those two have the record on 'no mission fail' ever since they started four years ago." Another one said.

"And those two are so damn hot!" a girl merc said dreamily which caused the brunette Summoner to wince a little.

The two mercenaries came down from the stairs, carrying their stuffs for the mission. Natsuki was still wearing the same outfit as before but now with a long coat and the huge case on her back. Nao was wearing the same as Natsuki but differ in color. "Hot and Sexy I might add!" Nao said with a grin on her face. But her grin disappeared when her cousin hit her on the back of her head. "**FRYD DRA VILG**(2)?!"

Rin laughed hard hearing how high his mercs look at the two. He turned his attention to both Shizuru and Reito with a wide smile. "Well, the payment for hiring them is already paid so lady Viola, sir Kanzaki, I bid you and my mercs well." He said. He turned his attention to his two employees and grinned. "I'm expecting a good job from the two of you. Not a single body part should be missing from you or your clients got that Zhang? Kruger?" Rin instructed them.

"Yeah, yeah. Be back after this. Be sure to tell your satellite agencies that we are stopping by." Nao reminded her boss. Both she and Natsuki left befoe Shizuru and Reito to fetch their bikes, saying to meet them outside.

**--- End music ----**

Shizuru and Reito thanked Rin and bowed before him as they left the tavern to meet up with Natsuki and Nao. Reito masked his annoyance with his smile and his Summoner just happily went out. "Mi'lady, why do we need them anyway?" Reito asked.

"As I said before and to Natsuki, you will be busy protecting me to focus on killing mobs of monsters. As father said, you have to protect me but we need someone to protect the both of us." The brunette explained with a smile plastered on her face.

But Reito frowned and gently held Shizuru's hand. "Shizuru, you know how much you mean to me. Please, I hope this journey with Kruger won't interfere with that." He said with concern and jealousy in his voice.

The Summoner felt her guardian's emotions and couldn't help but feel confused. In herself, she knew she like Reito but compared to Natsuki, she loved the blunette. Yet upon the years of absence of the blunette, she had grown some feelings for the raven haired guardian. '_Reito…'_ she sighed and looked at Reito with her façade smile. "I know Reito. This is just purely professional." She said to her guardian, unsure if it was a lie or not. Her guardian had let go of his grip on her hand and she suggested they went to Natsuki before the blunette yell at them

When the two saw Natsuki, they were surprised to see the metallic vehicles the two were riding. The silver wolf-like bike that Natsuki was riding and beside it was the spider-like bike that Nao was riding is chained to an open-roof carriage behind them. They were amazed because not even once they had seen such Machinas before.

"I see those two conjured up such machines again." Reito said in amazement.

Shizuru nodded and approached the silver Machina and traced her delicate fingers on the metal. To her surprise, the metallic machine somehow moved closer to her touch. "Ara… it responded." Shizuru said in amusement as she continued to pat the metal vehicle.

Natsuki shrugged. She was surprised that it responded to Shizuru's touch. All she could answer to the brunette was a simple nod and a gesture to sit at the carriage.

"**yna oui cina ypuid drec**(3) mutt?" the red head asked her cousin.

"**fa ryja hu lruela. madc zicd ruba ajanodrehk femm ku csuudrmo.**(4)" Natsuki said as she sighed heavily. She looked at Shizuru who was looking at her with concern. '_Shit! I forgot that Shizuru can understand Albhed!'_ she mentally slapped herself and coughed to avoid looking at Shizuru.

Nao noticed her cousin's odd behavior and laughed when she realize that the brunette can understand them. "Let's go lady summoner, Zanarkand won't be waiting for us." Nao said with a taunting grin.

"Natsuki…" Shizuru whispered. She sighed inwardly and obeyed Nao's suggestion. She went to the carriage where Reito was waiting for her like a gentleman and took a seat infront of Reito. "Someday you'll tell me the truth of your absence Natsuki." She whispered to Natsuki whose bike was just near her.

The blunette frowned and ignored Shizuru's statement. "Where to?" she asked, not facing their companions.

"Reito?"

Reito cleared his throat and smiled at the brunette. "We have a 'Sending' ritual at the city of Zipang." He said with a dashing smile.

Shizuru shrugged upon hearing her next duty. But being a high summoner, she must do the task as soon as possible. She sighed and looked at the sky. "Zipang it is then…" she said which earned her a nod from Nao and Natsuki. '_why must it be a sending…'_

Natsuki can feel that Shizuru was not in a good mood since she saw Shizuru tensed up when the term 'sending' was said by the raven haired guardian. She revved up her bike and nodded her head to Nao. "Don't over speed spider, unless you want EVERYONE after our necks." Natsuki said. She shivered at the thought of Rin hunting their heads just because of a machine crash.

"Got it mutt!" she yelled to her cousin who was revving her Machina loudly. She turned her lime green eyes to the carriage occupants and grinned. "Hang on tight! This will be the ride you'll never forget! HEHEHE" the red head snickered and followed her cousin's vehicle at top speed.

* * *

**albhed trans:**

1. Welcome!

2. What the F***?!

3. Are you sure about this?

4. we have no choice. let's just hope everything will go smoothly

**a/n: lame chappie or nice? you to decide by giving me a nice review or not nice, as long as its a review ^^, guess next update will be when i get 50 reviews ^^,**


	5. Chapter 5: Overdrive and Sending

**A/N:** yey finished another chappie~! ;3 hehehe... hope you guys like this chapter. oh and there's a small link down there that says 'review this chapter' i do hope yo guys review it.. many many many thanks ini advance!

* * *

Chapter 5: Overdrive and Sending

Two Machinas are parked by the side of a river, both having steam coming out from their metal bodies. The two owners of the Machinas are practically running to and from the river to gather water and splashing it to the machines with worried faces.

"Damn it spider! You could help by using water magic!" Natsuki yelled at her cousin, carrying a bucket full of water towards her Machina.

The red haired cousin shrugged and glared at her dark blue haired cousin. She threw some water to her cousin and smirked. "As if I'll waste my magic to cool off our Machinas. And besides, we both know water magic will enhance their rage and we both know we don't want that to happen." She mockingly said, splashing water to her own Machina.

By the sides, both guardian and summoner are watching the two run around. They both seated at few meters away from Natsuki and Nao's Machina, with a amused look on their faces. The two engineers had stopped from their journey when the two Machina's emitted steam. They wondered why the two had panicked and parked by the nearest water source they could find.

"I really wonder why those two are trying to cool off those Machinas. It's very clear that they removed the keys already." Reito wondered out loud. Shizuru nodded and still watched the two who are arguing and cooling the machines at the same time.

As the spider-like Machina had finally cooled down and was moved away from the other one, yet the silver Machina was nowhere near cool down. Natsuki glared at her cousin and growled. The silver colored Machina's eyes had gleamed or red and that made Natsuki push her cousin back.

"Run! Protect Shizuru!" Natsuki yelled as she took her black case.

The red headed nodded quickly and ran towards Shizuru and Reito. "You two! Stay back from the mutt!" she shouted to the two. She halted infront of them and quickly readied herself from anything that might happened, casting a barrier to their area range.

"What's happening Zhang?" Reito asked curiously. He didn't understand why the two suddenly went in panic and ordering them to distance themselves from the blunette. He turned his attention to his summoner who has the same curious expression as his. "Mi'lady?"

The summoner looked back at Reito then to Nao who was now in battle stance. With the metallic gloves and dark dagger in hand, she can assess that something bad might occur. She tapped Nao's shoulder and asked, "Nao-san, what's happening?"

But before Nao can answer the summoner, a loud explosion suddenly shook the ground and covered the area with a thick cloud of dust.

**-Enter 'Assault'* music of FFX-**

Natsuki's body suddenly flung away from the cloud of dust as if someone had pushed her away real hard. Blood stained her left temple and a black sword in her hands which can one be measured as the same length as Natuski's height. Slowly, Natsuki stood up and held her sword with her two hands and ran towards the cloud of dust again and a loud howl and sword clashing to metal echoed from it.

"Tsk! You better not die on me mutt!" Nao yelled, still having her guard up. She looked back to the two clients who was still wondering what's happening. She focused her attention to the brunette summoner who was now getting worried. "It's Duran." She said, looking back to the cloud of dust which is slowly fading, revealing what was hidden.

"Duran?" both Reito and Shizuru asked. Reito has now his sword unsheathed, being cautious to the upcoming revelation. "What the heck is happening Zhang? What's-?" Reito's angered questioning had halted when the cloud of dust had completely disappeared, showing them a silver metallic wolf with two rifle barrels on each sides of its body and Natsuki holding a sword, panting heavily and bleeding from the left temple and right shoulder.

"Natsuki!" Shizuru shouted in shock when she saw Natsuki's beaten body. She was about to run towards the blunette when Nao held her arms and pulled her back.

"Don't be stupid Viola! You will be killed if you face Duran! Just let Natsuki handle her pet." The red head lectured the summoner, throwing Shizuru towards Reito who caught her with ease. "Julia!" Nao shouted, making her own Machina transform into a spider and approached them "Julia, protect those two." She instructed, earning her a gleam of green from the Machina's eyes as an answer. She dashed towards her cousin, aiding her in the fight.

Shizuru wanted to help aswell but Reito held her back and the spider Machina was guarding them protectively. She wanted to summon one of her Elementals, yet with the current situation, it would be too late. "Natsuki!"

Another howl echoed the field, making the ground to quiver from its resonance. Duran's right foreleg had placed infront of it and his left hind leg stepping back, with its claws burying to the ground. A snarl and gleam of red raging eyes signaled Natsuki that the wolf was about to attack.

Natsuki prepared herself for the impact as she struck her sword to the ground and clasped her hands. A small light glowed from her gloved hands and multiple shining orbs flew around her and had let out lines of light and formed a barrier. She took her sword again and posed for an attack. "Duran calm down!" she yelled. The wolf snarled and lunged itself towards Natsuki, having its head collide to the barrier. But that didn't stop the metal wolf from its attack as it still thrusts its head forward.

"Mutt! Jump out!" Nao shouted as she conjured fireballs from her hands and threw it to Duran when Natsuki jumped out of the barrier. She wanted Natsuki out of the fire's range for she knew that Natsuki only casted a barrier. Her fireballs had hit Duran at its body and caused Duran to cease its lunge yet that just angered the raging wolf and targeted Nao for its next attack.

The wolf stood on its ground and loaded its barrels with silver bullets. This in turn made Natsuki to run towards Nao, with only one hand holding her sword, and pushing her cousin out of the wolf's firing range. Both of them stumbled to the ground, weapons out of their reaches.

"You stupid spider! I told you not to interfere!" Natsuki said angrily.

"Shut up mutt! I don't want you to get all flashy infront of our two clients! My rep is on the line!" Nao answered back.

Back at Shizuru, she was panicking inside as she watches Natsuki battle out with the metallic wolf. Even if she wanted to help, her guardian restrained her movements and attempts to help her friend. She wanted to shout but her voice failed her, she wanted to resist Reito but the Machina called Julia was blocking her path. '_Please be alright Natsuki…'_ she mentally prayed.

"That Kruger, I wonder how she can wield such weapon." Reito asked, feeling challenged in what he sees. "But still she's rather slow in her movements compared to when she's holding her guns and she lacks special sword techniques." He criticized. He did not care of what would happen to the mercenary that's why he's not trying to help them.

The blunette hit her cousin's head and stood up again. She glances at her summoner who was looking at her anxiously. A sigh escaped her lips and she scratched the back of her head. She had enough of Duran's misbehavior. Hearing another barrel being loaded by her Machina, Natsuki casted haste on herself and quickly grabbed her sword.

"Time for you to calm down Duran." She said as she stood infront of Duran, slashing air with her sword. "Playtime is over." Duran fired a shot but Natsuki only blocked it with her arm guard, making the gear to fling away from her arms."Such a bad wolf…" her eyes shone with seriousness and her brows furrowed. Another shot and this time her other armguard was used to deflect the bullet and flung the armguard away from her arm again.

With the two armguards not covering Natsuki, instead of panicking for the loss of her protective gear, Natsuki smirked and stretched her arms. "It's been a while since I took those off. Now, COME DURAN!" she barked, holding her sword firmly and swiftly dashed to Duran. Even without the effect of haste magic, her speed didn't slow down. In fact, her speed increased and her sword handling had improved. The metallic wolf readied itself to pounce its master and growled loudly.

With a quick dash and strikes, Natsuki's audience couldn't follow how many strikes did she impaled on the metal wolf. Only a quick flash of blue and black can be seen and ended with Natsuki standing infront of the immobilized wolf and sword in hand.

**-END MUSIC-**

"Calm down now Duran…" Natsuki whispered.

The wolf's raging red eyes calmed down and the wolf slowly sat up with its head hung low. Its master smiled and patted its metallic head, telling the Machina that its master is not mad.

With a sigh, Natsuki materialized a silver chain and chained her Machina down to prevent it from rampaging again. "It's alright. I'll find you your soul so please calm down." She whispered to Duran which the wolf nodded its head and laid down to the ground.

"Why are you such a show off mutt?" Nao grumbled as she walked towards her cousin.

Natsuki chuckled and apologized to Nao. With everything all fine, her body had regained its feeling and the searing pain from her wounds dominated her, making her fall on to her knees. "Shit!" she cursed, holding her shoulders due to pain.

Nao was about to run and help her when Shizuru already beat her to it. With a glow of white light and a soft 'cure' spell spoken, Natsuki's searing pain gently eased up, making the pain bearable.

"Natsuki baka!" Shizuru scolded the brunette. Tears slowly ran down from her crimson eyes as she continued to heal Natsuki's wounds. A soft 'sorry' and a stubborn look graced Natsuki's appearance as she didn't tried to move away from the summoner's healing procedure.

Reito watched them with a pang of jealousy. He was expecting Natsuki to lose and it was suppose to be him to stop the raging machine. Yet his impression was wrong when Natsuki's armguards had been flung away and the blunette's agility hasten without the use of magic. '_How can she move like that with a sword? As far as I can remember she has no sword mastery?'_ he looked at where the armguards had flew off and saw them a few meters away. He was surprised to see Natsuki's armguards on the ground, and created a small crater around it. '_What the-'_

"I see you noticed her armguards." Nao said in a bored tone. She saw how Reito was surprised to see the protective gears. She smirked when Reito quickly recovered his surprise and flashed him a smile. "We are not like you have encountered before Kanzaki, remember that."

"Ne Natsuki… what was that move?" Shizuru asked as she was healing Natsuki's wounds.

"What move?"

"That six-slashing move. I didn't know Natsuki can wield a sword." Shizuru held Natsuki's arm gently and leaned closer to her.

Natsuki blushed and looked away from the brunette and scratched her cheek. "I-it's called 'Slice and Dice'. Nao and I call it Overdrive mode. I'm surprised you had counted them though." Natsuki said in a slight surprise.

"Ara~! I am a summoner and I was trained to see movements even in haste magic." She said with her façade. She thought that the speed Natsuki performed while on haste magic was the same as when Natsuki performed her slice and dice. "So, now I know the reason why Natsuki has been carrying such a large case. So, does Natsuki's sword have a name?" she asked curiously.

Natsuki looked at her black sword. He sword was long that can measure up to her chest including the hilt. It has a few stray edges that show it can be rather dangerous when it slashed something and the dark blue color fitted Natsuki. She sighed and grabbed her sword. "It's called 'Caladbolg'. It's made by a friend of mine." She informed the brunette summoner.

"Yo mutt! You okay now? Or do you still want Viola to cling on your arm?" Nao taunted.

A blush covered Natsuki's face and she distanced herself away from Shizuru. Both Nao and Shizuru laughed at Natsuki's reaction. "Tsk! Stop messing with me!" she barked at them, making her way towards her case and putting her sword back in. she looked around to find and grab her armguards so that she can place them back to her arms. "Even if how much of a relief it is without these deadweight, I can't just have them lying around." She said to no one, stroking her armguards. She heard Reito spoke to Shizuru, reminding them that they shouldn't trust Natsuki and her raging Machina.

"Shizuru! That machine is dangerous! We can't let them continue escorting us if they can't even control their own creations!" Reito complained, pointing at Duran and Julia.

The two Machina's felt threatened and opted to treat Reito as an enemy, but a sound of Natsuki and Nao's voice stopped their advancement.

"Oi Kanzaki! Our Machina's are NOT that dangerous!" Nao said, glaring at Reito.

"Not dangerous?" Reito pointed at Duran. "That thing almost killed Kruger! And Kruger is its master, how can you not call that dangerous!" Reito yelled at Nao. He pointed his unsheathed sword to Nao and furrowed his brows. "The elders might be right exiling you two from your own work place. You two can create monsters that are far more dangerous than the fiends itself! Your machines will endanger my summoner!"

"**FRO OUI VILGEHK PYCDYNT! TUH'D OUI TYNA BUEHD OUIN CFUNT YD SA!** (1)" Nao raised her knife and pointed it at Reito in return.

"Nao **tuh'd cduub cu muf yc** Kanzaki. **Mufan ouin gheva yht mad res pa**. (2)" Natsuki said, holding her anger inside. She placed a hand over Nao's head, pushing it gently down to calm the red head. "Breathe in and out. Imagine a chocobo kicking his ass…" she whispered to Nao which earned her a nod from the red head.

Reito couldn't understand what Nao yelled at him or what Natsuki said to her cousin. But he can tell it was an insult. He was going to give Nao a pierce when Shizuru had felt his intention and stood between him and the two engineers.

"Reito should calm down aswell. I trust that what happened today was just a slight loose of control." She said in her cold accent. She doesn't want to side with anyone but as far as she knows, she doesn't want Reito killing her Natsuki or Nao.

The raven haired man shrugged but complied with his summoner's order. He sheathed his sword but still glared at Natsuki and Nao. "As you wish MY Shizuru." He replied, stressing on the 'my' part.

This annoyed Natsuki. She glared back at the toothy guardian as she crossed her arms. "Look Kanzaki, it's not our choice to give you service. It's the summoner. So better hold your tongue before I cut it for you. Nao c'mon, let's just finish our job." She suggested, walking pass the two Fuuka citizens with Nao in tow.

"Those two really piss me off." Reito noted.

The brunette chuckled at how Natsuki was able to end her cousin's rage and drag her away from Reito. "Now I think it's time to go to Zipang and get the sending done." She suggested, walking to the carriage that's clung onto Julia. She sat down on the comfy seat and awaited Reito to board aswell.

The two mercenaries had straddled their Machinas, removing the chains and inserting the plates. Nao was still annoyed at Reito's outburst, mumbling curses to the raven haired guardian. Natsuki on the otherhand was adjusting her case. She wasn't supposed to use her sword and her Overlimit but with Duran rampaging, she knew her guns won't be matched with the power of her Machina. "swordplay… tch! That beach bum really loves showy techniques." She whispered, revving Duran's engines indicating their departure.

Their travel to Zipang was quite solemn. Reito was keeping an eye out for fiends, Nao was trying her best not to throw some poison magic or poison bottles at Reito, Shizuru was sleeping soundly and Natsuki was leading the way to Zipang.

The city of Zipang was a small city compared to Fuuka and Garderobe. The city accommodates both engineers and summoners with no hesitation and they too have their own version of summoners but their way of rules is not as tight as Fuuka, making them a little weaker than Fuukan summoners. Zipang is just another freedom loving town in the eyes of Natsuki.

They went to a huge manor by the end of the road and were greeted by the king of Zipang, all dressed in black and grey. His eyes show determination but sadness aswell. His posture was rather weak than any of the nobles that surrounded him. He was with a boy dressed in blue noble clothes and beside the boy was a ninja like girl who seems like a bodyguard. Even the boy shows slight sadness in his eyes and posture even if the boy was trying hard to conceal the tears welling up in his eyes.

"I welcome you to our city High summoner Shizuru. it is an honor to have you with us." The king said politely. He gave Shizuru a curt bow and a slight nod to Shizuru's companions. "I'm Shinji Tokiha and this here is my son, Takumi." He pointed down to his son who gave a bow aswell.

The king scanned his visitors and found two familiar faces among them. He smiled a bit wider and let out a relief sigh. "It seems sir Kanzaki had finally found some allies to aid the high summoner. I'm very proud that lady Shizuru had chosen those two as guardians for I hear rumors about their greatness." He noted, looking at both Nao and Natsuki.

Hearing what the king had said made both Natsuki and Nao laugh. They know they had been hired to work for Zipang once and they had heard that the king wanted to thank them for their help but they refused before, saying they were busy with work.

Before Reito can give his response, Shizuru had opted to speak up before guardian decided to cause a commotion to them. Beaming the king a small smile, Shizuru bowed before the king and thanked them for the warm welcome.

"I believe we have a sending to commence my king. May I ask, who am I going to send?" Shizuru asked the king.

The king stayed silent and had leaded them to the small lake behind his manor. There, they saw many grieving people beside the lake where a long dark brown casket was sunken down under the water, dressed in purple flowers and white ribbons. Everyone saw Shizuru and her companions and gave way for the summoner to approach the casket.

"My wife… please take good care of her soul." The king said sadly. Tears were now staining his face as he bowed his head to Shizuru.

The brunette summoner nodded and made her way towards the edge of the lake where she was just a meter away from the casket. Taking a deep breath and slowly closing her eyes, she can hear everyone surrounding her staring to chant. Slowly, Shizuru walked over the water, gracefully stepping above it.

**-Insert 'Canta per me' by Yuki Kajiura-**

A dance. Shizuru had gracefully danced above the sunken casket, making the Zipang citizens start breaking down in agony. A dance where fragments of light that looked like fireflies came up from the water. Shizuru's furisode glided smoothly along the water, showing the flow of both water and spirit that rose up from the casket.

As Shziuru danced around a small imaginary circle, the water rose up, making a small pillar of liquid with Shizuru still dancing above it. Both the Zipang citizens and the nobles were amazed at the display of ritual. Shizuru showed no flaw in her dance as she swayed the sode of her clothes with the flow of the water.

Everyone admired the dance and Natsuki is no exception. She felt herself blushing as she watches Shizuru's ritual. How the brunette can glide herself through the water and how the small floating lights danced with her aswell. As her emerald orbs watches

The dance continues and the blunette felt a tug from her arm. She looked down and saw a furry kid with a lion-like face and blue furry skin with white patches and a small horn at the middle of his forehead. Yellow eyes looked up to emeralds, showing confusion and curiosity. "Big sister, what is the pretty lady doing?" the kid asked.

Natsuki blinked a few times and looked around, hoping that no one had heard the kid refer to her as 'big sister'. She knelt down to the level of the kid and ruffled his fur. "That pretty lady over there is doing a sending." She said to the kid with a small smile.

Yet, being a kid, he didn't quite understand what Natsuki had said. He tilted his furry head and frowned. "What's a sending?" he asked again.

A sigh escaped the blunette's lips and she stood up, looking at Shizuru's dance. She took a deep breath and said "The dead need guidance. Filled with grief over their own death, they refuse to face their fate. They yearn to live on, and resent those still alive. You see, they envy the living. And in time, that envy turns to anger, even hate. Should these souls remain in our world, they become fiends that pray on the living. Sad, isn't it? The sending takes them to the Farplane, where they may rest in peace." She closed her eyes, remembering her own mother's sending ritual.

Nao heard her cousin and fought the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes. Her mother had died before Natsuki's and it was her most painful day of her life. Watching the sending gave the pain a new life in her body.

The kid pointed the light and asked Natsuki what are those. The blunette smirked and followed the small floating insect-like light with her fingers. "They're 'pyreflies'." She informed the kid. But her information was again confusing for the furry kid.

"Are they fireflies?"

Natsuki chuckled and again ruffled the kid's furry head. "They may be called "pyreflies" but they aren't really 'flies', you see. They're those lights you see whenever a fiend dies. The little fellows are responsible for a few fantastic phenomena. Visions of the past, spheres, fiends-these are all the pyreflies' doing. In fact...pyreflies have something to do with elementals, too. The dreams of the fayth reach through the spirit of the summoner... And that which is unreal becomes real for all to see!"

**-End music-**

They heard the Zipang citizens wail in sadness as the last pyrefly flew up to the sky. The blunett looked back to Shizuru who gently walked out of the water and bowed infornt of the lake. She saw that Reito rushed to Shizuru and offered his hand as support. His actions gave a few romantic coos by the nobles.

"tch, anyway kid, what's your name? I rarely see a Ronso in these parts of the world." she asked, ignoring the sappy view.

"Kimahri!" the ronso kid said happily.

"Well then Kimahri, grow up and be strong so that you can protect your own pretty lady okay?" Natsuki said to Kimahri. Kimahri nodded his furry head and told her that someday he'll protect someone beautiful like Shizuru. This made Natsuki chuckle a bit and suggested the kid ronso to train hard. She walked towards Nao and left Kimahri since it seems that the Sending is over. She approached Nao who has a grin etched on her face as if insulting her for no reason again. "What?" she asked irritably, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at the grinning Nao.

The red red laughed and ignonred Natsuki. She just couldn't believe her cousin would explain such stuff to some random kid and even tell the kid to be strong. She snorted a laugh again before pointing their client who was now headed back inside the manor. "Hey mutt! It seems we have free dinner today." She said as she followed the people back inside the manor with Natsuki following as well.

* * *

**a/n: so how as it? good? bad? tell me so that i can have more ideas for the next chappie.. **

Albhed translation:

1. WHY YOU FUCKING BASTARD! DON'T YOU DARE POINT YOUR SWORD AT ME!

2. Nao don't stoop so low as Kanzaki. Lower your knife and let him be


	6. Chapter 6: Cousin alone time

A/N: Chappie update~ :) Ah i'm frying my brains now... _ hope this would be up to your liking... ;D

* * *

Chapter 6: Cousin alone time.

The sound of porcelain and silver gently clashing together and the soft laughter filled the dinning area that both Natsuk and Nao entered. Nao smirked when a few of the nobles, both men and women had recognized them and started approaching them. In Natsuki's case, women are drooling and flirting over her. Some dared to offer empty seats besides them. But both cousins decided to seat near their client.

"Haha I see Kruger and Zhang still has their ways with charming people." Shinji pointed out with a loud laugh. His subjects giggled aswell as his son upon seeing Nao smirk and Natsuki blush. He drank some wine from his cup and smiled at the summoner beside him. "Lady Shizuru, you are very lucky to have them. Such beauty and brawns is indeed a treasure."

His comment gained a few cheers and girlish chuckles from his subjects and even Shizuru chuckled with them. Nao boastfully puffed out her chest as everyone praised them.

"Well we try our best, don't we Natsuki?" Nao nudge her cousin's side.

"Whatever." Natsuki answered flatly he looked at Takumi who was smiling at her. She smiled back and bowed her head in courtesy. "Been a long time Takumi-sama, Akira." She greeted the boy and his bodyguard

Takumi laughed at Natsuki's courteous gesture over him. He waved off Natsuki's curt bow and offered him a kind smile. "Two years Natsuki, but please call me Takumi. Must I say, neechan was worried about you." He said to Natsuki who has a soft smile etched on her face. The little prince looked up to his father beside him and saw his father's face brighten up upon hearing the connection between his daughter and Nastuki.

"Hm? Tokiha-san knows Natsuki?" Shziuru asked when she heard Takumi. Her smile was inquiring, as if what she heard about the young Tokiha's sister struck a vein on her. She had met the female Tokiha in one of her journeys and she must say the girl was rather, 'healthy' in her body.

The summoner's guardian looked at Nastuki and he too was curious to how the Tokiha family know her. Sure the girl was a mercenary but to have the attention of such high ranking people was not a coincidence. "I want to know aswell young prince Tokiha," he stated with his usual flashy smile, which gained him the attention of many.

"ho-ho~! Does sir Kanzaki and lady Shizuru wants to know?" Shinji asked with his eyes gleaming of mischief.

The blunette laughed nervously when she saw Shinji's reaction. She can guess what the next outcome would be. "Tokiha-sama please, what had happened is already in the past." She weakly protested. She put no effort in her plea for she knows that the man won't listen to her.

Shinji laughed and drank from his cup before setting his sight at the high summoner. He stood up from his seat and walked towards Nastuki. Upon standing behind the blunette's chair and placing his rough hands over her shoulders, Shinji felt the glares from his subjects (mostly females) eyes. "Ahem~! Lady summoner, Natsuki here is dear to my family." He smiled and held Natsuki's shoulder's a little tighter. "She was supposed to be my daughter-in-law you know." He ended his small saying with a wide grin.

Shizuru practically choked on her food while Reito raised a brow as he saw his Summoner's reaction. Nao laughed hard while Natsuki sighed and placed a hand over her forehead in defeat. They could see that Shinji was both proud and sad upon announcing that Nastuki WAS his supposed to be daughter-in-law.

"W-what?" Shizuru asked in surprised. Her grace had left forgotten for a few seconds before realizing it and putting up a façade once again. "Ano- what do you mean 'was' my king?" her curiosity was at its peek and her insides were anxious to know more.

The king laughed hard for a few seconds and offered Shizuru one of his handsome smiles. "You see Lady Shizuru, Natsuki here is my daughter's close friend. Close enough to be my next daughter too if it wasn't for the sudden interest of my daughter to protect my son and this kingdom." He explained as he gently gave Natsuki a shoulder massage.

Natsuki frowned and swiped the older Tokiha's hands away from his shoulders. She growled and glared at the king who just laughed and went back to his seat. "Seriously mutt, Mai was in to you. And I know you were too except for the part that Tokiha Mai wanted to be a summoner. And the fact that you" The red head said with a wide grin. "kinda familiar don't you think Viola?" her voice was sarcastic as she looked at Shizuru with a grin.

Shizuru knew what Nao meant. She stayed silent as she mentally cursed on the fact that what the red-haired mercenary is indeed familiar. She took a deep breath and flashed one of her façade smile to the young mercenary. "I don't recall its familiarity Nao-san." She lied. She knew that only the four of them can relate to the current topic and she was not risking any bad memories spewing out and becoming an argument. She leaned back to the chair and looked at everyone who gave Natsuki some endearing looks or flirty gestures.

Reito saw and heard everything the king and his son said pertaining to Natsuki. He couldn't believe that even in foreign lands, his childhood rival has been famous as well. He knew that Natsuki and Nao are both Machina experts but to excel even in popularity among royalty of foreign lands surprised him. Add up that his summoner is clearly haven't forgotten her childhood crush. He kept his smile façade but mentally cursed the said blunette.

The king can feel the aura building up on the summoner's side and cleared his throat to clear the tension. He clapped his hands to gain everyone's attention and flashed them a handsome smile. "Friends and subjects. Let us all thank High summoner Shizuru for her services. I can sleep well tonight with the thought of my wife is peacefully in the farplane." He spoke solemn voice. Everyone raised their cups and bid their thanks and goodbyes to his late wife.

The two mercenaries held their stern look but under the table, they held each other's hands. Both their chests felt tight as they remember their mothers' own sending. After the solemn prayer for Shinji's Wife, the two excused themselves and went out to their Machinas.

In front of their machines, Nao leaned her forehead to Julia while Natsuki patted Duran's metallic head. The two machines responded with their maker's touches. Duran's eyes gleamed and moved closer to Natsuki's hand and Julia's metal head hung over Nao's.

"We should've been over this mutt!" Nao's voice sounded like she forced herself to say it. She clenched her fists, spun around and shot a quick fireball to the tree behind Natsuki, burning the tree.

Natsuki, feeling the hot fire behind her, sighed heavily and casted ice magic to the burning tree. The tree and the fire around it froze and shined under the sun. "Our life today is like that frozen burning tree Nao. We show the people around us a freezing look and attitude but a warm and burning feeling for those who we owe our lives to." She said seriously. Patting Duran's head, she step aside and crossed her arms. "Duran! Load Chrome Cartridge!" she shout out, making the Machina turn to its wolf form and turn around to the tree with its rifle barrels loaded up. The Machine positioned itself, with its left metal front and hind legs stepping back and its front and hind legs stepped forward, its claws digging to the ground. "But our talents, skills and power are…" she cut her words and smirked. "FIRE!" And in an instant, Duran fired its cartridges that destroyed the frozen tree, creating small ice crystals falling from the air. "As destructive as the power that destroyed that thing."

The red head smirked and crossed her arms. Seeing and hearing what her blunette cousin had done and said relieved her from the constriction she is feeling. "Flashy as usual. You always know how to kill this ill mood mutt." She said with a wide grin.

Grinning like a Cheshire cat, Natsuki gave Nao a thumbs-up. "We are the best of the best; so why not go with style right spider?"

Nao laughed and nodded her head in agreement to her cousin's statement. They are the best in both being Rin's mercenaries and Machina engineers. The years they spend after being exiled from the facility had sharpened their skills in both battling and engineering. And they have to admit, they are second most famous celebrities according to the surveys. Next to High Summoner Shizuru which everyone knows is the most famous of all.

But Nao's laughter came to a halt and faced her cousin seriously. She approached her cousin and poked the blunette on the forehead using her right index finger. With all the praises and recognitions they faced, she fears one thing and one thing only. "We are the best, but it's nothing if the 'WE' will turn to "ME' Natsuki." She said seriously, stopping her continous poking and glaring at Natsuki.

The blunette laughed and gave the redhead a soft punch to the shoulder. She flashed one of her true smiles to Nao and pulled her to a hug. "Idiot, ofcourse that won't happen. I don't want to die first anyway hahaha." her joke caused her painful kick to the shin by Nao, who grinned menacingly at her action. "Fuck you!" she cursed with a frown, pushing Nao away from her and bending down to rub her painful shin.

"Love you too mutt." Nao snickered, patting Natsuki's head like a dog. Her cousin swatted her hand away and growled at her for being treated as a canine. Their actions caused some laughs not far from them and some of the voices were familiar to their ears.

They saw the amazed looks on everyone's faces. The faces of the guests and subjects are etched with amazement as they all saw the ice shower that Natsuki and Nao created and the summoner and his guardian was no exception. The astonishing display was beautiful to them, though Reito can do it as well since he's a sword mage, but he never tried it for showing off. Or so they all thought the two were showing off.

Natsuki and Nao smirked and went on with the flow. They can see by the looks on everyone's faces that they thought they were giving everyone a show. Both bowed their heads and waved at everyone like celebrities. They earned claps and whistles from the guests and Shinji gave both of them a big hug.

"Thank you~ Please come by Rin's travel and mercenary agency for your jacks-of-all-trades!" Nao advertised. She can tell that the agency will gain more popularity again due to their 'demonstration'.

The people cheered and praised the mercenaries for their little flashy show. They gave the two a warm greeting and such but Shinji knew that they are busy and opted to tell everyone to go back inside and offer a prayer to his the small prayer and discussion over politics, Shizuru asked if they can continue on with their journey, which the king didn't object. They bid their leave, Natsuki scrunching Takumi's hair, reminding the young prince to take care and instructed Akira to watch over the prince.

Both guardian and Summoner boarded the carriage and waited for the two mercenaries to finish their preparation. After clamping the carriage to Julia and straddling their Machinas. The machines roared its engines like beasts and both engineers grinned proudly upon hearing the sounds.

"Seems our beasts are happy." Nao stated, noticing the glint in their Machina's eyes. She patted Julia's head and the machine shrugged in response. Natsuki nodded her head and heard Duran rev its engine. She smiled and tilted her head to the side, signaling Nao that they should get ready to leave.

"So, where to lady summoner?" Nao asked, mocking Shizuru's title and adding a small bow to emphasize the summoner's high ranking in society. She smirked once she gained eye contact to Shizuru.

Shizuru, ignored Nao's ridicule and just smiled at the red head. She's used to Nao's teasing and knew that the only way to counter it is to stay calm. "To the Moonflow. We need to cross the waters of the Moonflow to enter Guadosalam. The Guados know more about Zanarkand than us Fuuka summoners." She explained. She haven't crossed the Moonflow herself since her pilgrimage to get her final summon had just began a year ago.

The redhead yawned lazily. When she heard Shizuru finished her explanation, she glared at the summoner and crossed her arms. "You talk too much Viola. Even a child knows that. Only thing we don't know is what happens after getting the final summon and tried summoning it. The mutt and I only did some escorting to Zanarkand but we haven't witness any of that final summoning stuff." She said half-heartedly. She looked at her nails, examined it and blew some air to it. "Besides, the mutt hates summoning." She continued. Without waiting for Shizuru's reply, Natsuki drove the machine ahead of them that opted Nao to follow the blunette.

The summoner knew that Natsuki hated summoning. As the carriage was being pulled by Julia, she reminisced at the time she found out Natsuki's hatred over summoning. It was when Natsuki witnessed her very first summon. The Elemental is half human, half beast. With tanned, thick skin with fiery red fur on the chest and forelimbs, long-pointy horns on the side of its head and an intimidating face that breathed fire through its fanged mouth. The Elemental stepped forward to Shizuru and growled menacingly.

~_flashback~_

"HUMAN, I AM IFRIT, GUARDIAN OF THE FLAMES OF THE UNDERWORLD." The Elemental spoke in a deep, threatening voice. Sharp-clawed hands formed a fist and shook in annoyance. It looked at Shizuru and snarled, showing its pearly white fangs. "A MERE HUMAN GIRL DARED TO CALL ME OUT, YOU MUST CARRY SUCH HIGH STAMINA LITTLE GIRL WHO IS A SUMMONER. TELL ME WHO ARE YOU?" its voice showed his might and pride as it glared down on Shizuru.

Shizuru, standing infront of the beast, felt fear before the intimidating fiery aura that Ifrit is emitting. Yet how much she feared the beast, she stood her ground and smiled at Ifrit. "A-Ara, my name is Shizuru Viola. I am honored to be your summoner." She said in a low voice, bowing her head to show respect to the Elemental. She shrugged as she unable to hide her fear over the overwhelming beast which touched her head with it's black claws.

"HUMAN. YOU TREMBLE WITH A MERE SIGHT OF ME. YOUR POWER MAY BE STRONGER THAN THE NORM BUT TO ME YOU ARE A MERE CHILD." Ifrit's voice sounded of both interest and anger as he shifted its hand away from the brunette and raised it up.

Pearly white fangs flashed before the brunette and before she can blink, black claws with blood dripping from the palm and claws, a bloodied arm of a blunette standing infront of her and a broken sword from a raven haired guardian gave her a frightful surprise.

"Natsuki! Reito!"

Natsuki pushed Shizuru back as she and Reito lunged forward to stop the oncoming attack of the Elemental. Natsuki took out a long rifle and shot the beast straight to the chest. But she snarled like the beast when her bullet didn't even scratched the hide of Ifrit. Reito on the other hand coated his broken sword with ice magic and striked the Elemental at the back which cause Ifrit to growl in pain.

"Kruger let me handle this! Take lady Shizuru away from here!" Reito shouted, evading Ifrit's raging fireballs that's being thrown at him. Reito wasted no time and opportunity to strike and deal heavy damage to the Elemental.

"You stupid? You take her away from here. You are her guardian so you must 'GUARD' her!" Natsuki shouted back at Reito, ignoring the man's command, taking out a pair of mechanical pistols, and aimed at Ifrit. "You should be running now toothpaste guy!" she warned the raven haired guardian as she saw an incoming huge fireball aimed at them. The guardian and summoner ran while Natsuki dodged the fireball in the nick of time but her coat caught on fire and she hurriedly extinguished it by tapping it roughly.

"INFIDEL, YOU DARE TO ATTACK ME HEAD-ON?"

Natsuki smirked and stood before Ifrit. She loaded her pistols with chrome colored bullets and she cockily aimed iit at Ifrit. "Not really, you dared attack Shizuru therefore I will give my all in eliminating you." She snarled and fired her guns.

The beast felt a powerful impact on it's body and it fell on it's knee. "THAT PACKED A PUNCH LITTLE GIRL WITIH PIERCING EYES." Ifrit said in a rather proud voice. He stood up and its abs all scorched due to the blast from Natsuki's bullet. He readied himself to attack Natsuki but both he and the blunette stopped from whatever they are planning. Between them stood Shizuru, all determined and ready to strike within her hand she held a red Naginata and her eyes burning with Rage. "Stand down Ifrit of the underworld. Or I'll be forced to end your life right now." Her voice sounded cold, threatening, and her body having a stance for an attack. Very un-summoner like stance since Shizuru's wielding a Naginata instead of the usual rod.

The blade of the weapon is glowing in blue and Shizuru's pointing at Ifrit's thick-skinned neck. Her eyes showed burning anger at the Elemental which has it's claws raised against Natsuki. "Stand down Elemental. I am your summoner and as part of our ritual, if you disobey me I'll end your life."

"Shizuru!" Reito shouted, running infront of Shizuru, readying himself to defend his summoner.

Ifrit shivered when his golden eyes came in contact with Shizuru's angered crimson colored eyes. He grinned, showing his white fangs. "SUMMONER VIOLA, I DEEM YOU WORTHY. HERE, BEFORE ME YOU STOOD TO PROTECT AND THAT I FIND COURAGEOUS. BUT IF EVER I FEEL EVEN A SINGLE WEAKNESS IN YOU WHEN YOU SUMMON ME, I'LL TAKE YOUR LIFE ASWELL AS YOUR GUARDIANS." He warned, giving Shizuru a bow and his body disappearing with bits of pyreflies floating around them.

_~end of flashback~_

With that, Natsuki Hated summoning as the Elementals have the strength to kill their own masters. Shizuru can understand this and she has to be honest that a few of her Elementals had tried to disobey her and hurt her. She sighed and turned her attention to Reito who sat on the opposite side of the carriage where her guardian beamed her one of his charming smile when he notices her looking at him. She smiled back, leaned back to the cushion, and looked around the area.

Then she looked at Natsuki who drove her bike along with them. "Natsuki can we stop by Bevelle? I have a concert there five days from now." She added, showing Natsuki a cheerful smile. The blunette gunner looked at her summoner and nodded her head before turning her attention back on the road.

"Fufufu, I can't wait for this concert."


	7. Chapter 7: Anima

A/N: Alright! uploaded 2 chapters for this! I just want to say thanks to those who still read my fics and gave time to review them. You guys are the best! As i said, i uploaded 2 chapters so please give me what you think whether it may be good or just plain criticizing me,, I'll take it. So until then, Thanks :)

* * *

Chapter 7: Anima

Loud roar created a sonic boom as two mercenaries and the dark haired guardian all charged and launched some long ranged attacks at the flying fiend. All evaded the said attack from the beast yet the dark flying beast known as Stratoavis flapped its giant wings, readying another attack. They encountered the rare yet malevolent fiend as they make their way to Bevelle along the Djose Highroad, ignoring the path to Djose Temple.

"Duran! Load Silver Cartridge!" Natsuki shouted which the metal wolf steadied and loaded the silver shells onto it's barrel, awaiting for its master's command on firing. Natsuki waited for the perfect aim and when the bird's wings started to glow again, her brows furrowed and pointed the head of the fiend. "FIRE!" Shouting the command, which the wolf obliged, and firing the icicle shell to the fiend's head.

The fiend wriggled in pain as its head is now covered in ice. It stayed airborne as it continues to struggle free from the ice covering its head, still its wings emitted powerful gusts that pushed Natsuki and the other's near it backwards and inflicting multiple wind cuts onto them.

"Kanzaki! Don't you fucking attack any status magic on it! It's immune to ALL!" yelled the red head as she somersaulted to avoid the raging gust that the flyer is creating from its massive wings. Armed with her claw and knife, she landed perfectly atop of a boulder, a big distance from the said monster. Its has been a good thirty minutes since their encounter with the giant bird and by the looks of the activity of the said fiend, it is far from getting beaten. "Natsuki I'll cast berserk to you. You know what to do! And Kanzaki, keep your summoner protected until she summon any of her mumbo jumbo Elementals!" she commanded, steadying herself to chant a berserk magic.

Natsuki silently nodded her head and readied herself on the on-coming rage magic. She knows vey well that berserk will cause her to only use physical attack and it won't be a good sign on her body or her companions as it would make her attack whoever gets in her way. She looked at Reito who was frowning regarding the command and only sighed in defeat. "Kanzaki, though my cousin may be dumb at times… never doubt her judgment regarding fiends." She said, readying herself and her mind that her enemy is the black giant bird and not a certain dark-haired guardian.

Reito nodded in agreement and ran back to Shizuru who was now summoning one of her Elementals. He looked amazed at how Shizuru was chanting the words to summon an Elemental. The chants, or singing, 'Salva Nos', is the song that summoners chants/sings in order to call upon the beings that they call 'Elementals'. Gripping his rapier, he can feel some goosebumps on his skin as he listens to the chant while he positioned himself into a protective stance. He knows that Elementals may help them, but depending on the Elemental, he must be sure it wouldn't turn against them.

Nao casted berserk magic to Natsuki, which the blunette was now covered in red aura and began to cast, protect magic to everyone. Natsuki, being in berserk mode, had her sight at the large fiend and began to firing multiple bullets, with Duran beside her, firing its own barrage of chrome cartridges. Julia on the other hand spewed some of its web to grab hold of the fiend to prevent any missed shots from its mistress' cousin and to add the acidic web bindings to the list of attacks being given to the fiend.

"Mi'lady! Now!" Reito yelled out as soon as he saw that the stage is set for his summoner's turn of attack.

Shizuru, with a naginata in hand, raised it upward to the sky. A portal opens in the sky, from which a chain falls into the ground. The chain rises and pulls a being from the ground, revealing a further chain-bound form of a being to which roared madly. The being, looking like a half-bodied mummified corpse, with its hands chained upon its body and a dark blue cloak wrung around it, swayed its head from side to side.

"I will share your pain." Shizuru said to which the Elemental roared wildly.

Hearing the said words, Reito's eyes widen and looked at the Elemental before him. Fear actually coarse down his veins as the said summon, enormous as it is, was summoned by Shizuru. "I advise we all stay away from that Elemental, Zhang! Kruger! Anima***** is an Elemental we shouldn't be giving our defenses down!" he warned them, not thinking of his current rivalry with the bluentte but the safety of their lives. He ran past the Elemental and stood infront of Shizuru, who was not sweating from exhaustion due to summoning the said Elemental.

**-Enter "FFX A Contest of Aeons" theme-**

'Raw Power'. That's what you can describe Anima. Its power is incomparable and yet it's wrath is indescribable. A sharp beam emitted from its left eye which hit the huge fiend and caused a lot of damage. Together with chrome cartridges being fired at it, the fiend can't even return an attack.

Natsuki was in awe. She kept on firing dark-based bullets on the fiend yet she never left her guard down with the Elemental around. '_That Elemental, such power…'_ she thought as she continues her assault onto the fiend. Even Reito joined in the fight as the guardian has fired multiple spells onto the fiend. One which hit quite damage was his 'Ultima' magic which caused him some energy making him pant a little and stopped attacking for a few seconds.

The red-head noticed the flash of bluish-green energy sphere that hit the fiend which caused it to land on the ground, with its head down. She knew the spell though she never casted it since it would take a lot of her energy, which might cause a weeklong of fatigue. Yet it amazes her how the guardian can move and cast more magic even after Ultima was casted. '_I can see why they call him the strongest guardian. I must admit that I can't beat him when it comes to magic and stamina.'_ Nao noted, silently giving credit to Reito's talent as a guardian. They kept evading the small attacks done by the Stratoavis which struggled to survive.

Anima had stopped its movements when the Statoavis had got the chance to avoid a 'Pain' attack and flied towards Natsuki, knocking the girl back, making the girl cough some blood. This had caused Natsuki's berserk status to dispel and she fell down on her knees as she cough some more.

"MUTT!" Nao yelled out in concern, she fired some 'Firaga' onto the enemy to knock some distance from her cousin. The magic worked and it caused the fiend to fly back and shake its head off the small flames burning its feathers. It screeched aloud and tried to attack Natsuki again but was stopped by a forceful beam hitting its breast which caused it to shriek in agony.

The summoner stood strong and focused as she watches her Elemental attack the now weakening bird. Seeing Natsuki got hit by it's attack was enough for her to kill the said fiend. She had ordered the summon to cast 'Pain' continuously and even though the Stratoavis is immune to the 'sudden death' effect of the Pain attack, it still dealt a massive damage on it.

Even if the combined strength of all of them it still wasn't enough to kill it. Natsuki was breathing heavily as her body weight was shifting to her discomfort aswell as Nao's. Both mercenaries are now thinking of giving all their effort in fighting the powerful fiend by means of going serious.

"Mi'lady I think it is time for you to finish this." Reito stated that made Natsuki and Nao looked at them in confusion.

"**Fryd yna drao dymgehk ypuid** mutt?"(1) Nao asked as she jumped off the boulder and stood beside the now calmed Kruger. The older Raider, sitting on the ground with its back leaning by a boulder just shook her head in response. She too doesn't know the sudden change.

Shizuru nodded her head and looked at the now wailing bird. She bowed before the beast as a sign of respect and turned to look at her Elemental. "Anima, Oblivion." Her voice was cold and commanding as the Elemental roared louder, acknowledging her command. With the said command, Anima roared wildly, making the birds nearby to fly away and even Nao's and Natsuki's machinas put up a defense position against the Elemental.

The ground beneath the fiend shook violently and sunk it down. Unknown to the humans who walked above, Anima sent the fiend down to another dimension to which is colored crimson-red. Before the weaken fiend is the other half of Anima, a darker version of it. White locks of hair floating down, sharp fangs that can be seen as its howl filled the area and the crossed arms chained together has been broken apart. The fiend wailed again, fearing the powerful beast before it. With another howl, Anima's hands are now ball up in fists and begun to release multiple bone-shattering punches onto the enemy. With sixteen strikes, ending the life of the fiend, the Stratoavis was pulled up to the surface and laid dead before the entire humans it fought.

**-End Music-**

To say both Natsuki and Nao were shock was an understatement. Words cannot describe what they saw. One minute the fiend was standing before them, the next was the ground spitting it out, lifeless. The rare bird fiend, Stratoavis, defeated within a matter of an hour with Shizuru's Elemental do final kill. They looked at Shizuru who dismissed Anima like some master shooing away a dog with an ease while Reito only offered her a dashing smile and a congratulatory gesture.

The summoner wiped some sweat beads that has formed on her forehead and smiled at Reito. Summoning Anima wasn't hard for her, but the fact that using 'Oblivion' will take a lot from her own strength. With a hand offered to her by her guardian, she greatly accepted the offered help and let Reito guide her to their mercenaries. "Shall we rest a bit Natsuki? Nao?" she asked the two who snapped out of her daze and nodded in response.

"Uh, yeah. There is a satellite agency a few kilometers from here. You can rest there comfortably than out here." Nao suggested which the two Fuukan citizen gladly accepted. "alright, just give us a few minutes to prepare our machinas."

Natsuki and Nao took the opportunity to go to their own machinas and proceeded in deactivating their assault modes. Putting their machinas to normal mode was an ease to them, but the mage thief Nao made sure she took her time, not wanting to have a slight miscalculations with their machinas. She turned to her cousin who was wiping the ashes from Duran's cannons and she sighed. "**Naseht sa hajan belg y vekrd fedr ouin cfaadraynd **Natsuki**. Ran ****Elemental ec VYYYYN cdnuhkan dryh yho uv uin bnajeuic lmeahdc. Yht drao yna hud y ryhtvim uv lmeahdc seht oui.**" (2) Nao was shaking her head as she remembered the Elemental that destroyed the fiend. Her cousin laughed a bit upon bringing the 'sweetheart' to her complains.

"**Torry **spider**, dned **Anima**… U dnurg U nieht **Mai** meaurk ud'm yri yw dni byzihwoc ****Elemental dnihi um**." (3) Natsuki answered back, remembering Mai kept repeating what she learned from some summoner they encountered before. After cleaning the barrels, she smiled and patted Duran's metal head indicating she is done with the cleaning. The metal wolf's eyes gleamed in delight at it's master's affectionate gesture on it. "Half-organic, half-metallic. Both you and Julia are our greatest invention yet! And not to mention you my dear Duran is still half-finished." She noted, staring straight to Duran's LED eyes as she patted the metal wolf's head.

"So mutt, when do you plan to get Duran all finished? Not that I'm complaining, but don't want anymore 'accidental' massacre now do we?" Nao's tone was rather a warning than a reminder. The thought of the reason for their exile gave Natsuki a quick smile on the face. The exile was her freedom from the rules she hated, from everyone who criticize her and her cousin, and the elders who invoked their rules. Their greatest idea, Duran and Julia. The main reason for their exile and the plan they devised for her future.

The older raider blinked and turned to look at her cousin. Remembering the reason of the 2 machina's creation. "Fayth… do you remember them Nao?" she asked, smirking at her cousin's quick nod of the head. "Then remind me again. What are Fayths?'

"The Fayth are people who gave their lives to battle beside their summoners. Yevon took their souls, willingly given from their still-living bodies. Living forever, trapped in statues. However, when a summoner beckons, the souls of the Fayth emerge once again. That's what we call an Elemental." Nao recited, remembering the words of the traveler they met before. She thought the whole 'Yevon' is a part of that traveler's religion as they have never heard of the stated god before.

The blunette closed her eyes and remembered a few years ago while doing a research regarding fiends and Elementals. She encountered two people who taught her all about Fayths. How the Fayth are connected to Elementals and how they are created. The two travelers have a distinct aura to them but she shrugged it off and focused on the Fayth.

"Living forever, trapped in statues as their soul becomes an Elemental." Natsuki repeated, looking at Julia with sadness. She clenched her hands a she recalls Anima, thinking of what did 'Anima' have to sacrifice to be like that. "Do you think they really deserve to be one? Do you think it is right for us to even create one?"

Nao understood her cousin's pain in being reminded of their past. She stood beside her cousin and gave the blunette a weak jab on the head to knock the sad girl out of her self-pity. "Lady Juliet's wish was to rid the world of its dirty games. She wanted to end the cycle of war and sacrifice in this living world. Or so she spoke to us before, ya know…" Nao's explained. She rolled her eyes upon pointing something out to her cousin which Natsuki just nodded. She whipped her hand and pointed Julia who was a few meters away from her. "And if what we did wasn't something that can help people, then I can bet Julia will be rampaging again so suck up and give me that nasty-lame-o glare of yours like the cousin I know."

Natsuki let out a laugh and placed a hand on her cousin's head. "Well said cousin, well said. Nevertheless, whatever happens, to our missions, to our lives; we should live to the fullest. No regrets and no sadness**. **And definitely no revenge.**"** She said, with a voice of cold and seriousness.

The words brought chills down to Nao's spine. Hearing Natsuki's reminder of life's importance that moment was something scarier than the time they first entered the job at Rin's. She shook the thought and ominous feeling away and hid her fear with her mocking smirk. "Well whatever might happen, I bet I'm smart enough not to die first. Now speaking of dying, let's go to that sweetheart of yours and get our wounds healed. We aren't like the 'unsent' that cannot heal normally and retain the scars of their wounds. I actually like my scar-free body you know," she stated, pointing at the small gashes and cuts on her arms and legs.

Both secured their machines and went to the two Fuukan citizens, which gave them quite a shock as they are having tea. At one point, having tea after a battle is out of the ordinary as far as being a raider and the other is the fact that the tea looked like it was jut brewed is very much a mystery to the two of them.

"Shall I need to ask?" Natsuki inquired, raising a brow as she looked at the cups the two held.

The brunette merely chuckled and placed the teacup on the ground and moved towards the two ex-Garderobe engineers. She saw the battle wounds her companions received and flicked her hands to activate the 'Cure' spell to heal both Nao and Natsuki's wounds.

Natsuki's wound healed quickly, even the strike from the Staroavis was healed like it was just a scratch. Shizuru then tend to healing Nao's wounds and the red head smirked aswell as gave Shizuru a light punch on the shoulder. "You're amazing, I must admit. Do summon that monster whenever we encounter fiends again okay?" she suggested with a wicked smile. Indeed summoning Anima in every fight will make their mission easier and safer for all of them. _'The road to Zanarkand is a harsh and fearful road. A road of sadness and despair to those who seek power. The last chapter of every journey.'_ Nao mentally recited, remembering the first summoner they have accompanied there, Lady Juliet.

"Ara~ if Nao wants me to faint or die after summoning Anima more than three times a week, then why would I decline that idea?" Shizuru's thick accented voice gave Nao a sudden shiver down her spine, snapping her out of her memory lane trekking. Seeing the smile on the brunette summoner's face is something more threatening than a fiend attack.

'_Scary and deadly._' Nao noted.

Meanwhile, Natsuki was busy packing her guns on the metallic case, careful not to get her hands near the blade of her sword. She closed the lid after placing her weapons and saw Reito standing before her. "What do you want Kanzaki?" she asked with a tinge of venom on her tone.

The dark-haired guardian scowled yet put his urge to argue with the blunette on hold as he reached out his hand. "You did great and thanks for your assistance." His voice was low and forced, avoiding Natsuki's confused gaze over him. He clicked his tongue and clenched his fist upon the lack of answer from the blunette. He was embarrassed enough as it is for thanking his childhood rival for their well-performed fight with the Stratoavis and the blunette just stared at him as if he had grown a head or two. His left hand laid rest above the hilt of his rapier and he spun around to walk away.

"Wait…" Came Natsuki's husky voice, which halted the guardian's steps. The dark-haired male turned around and saw Natsuki's own hand offered to him. "Thanks too… you know, for the assistance." It was Natsuki's turn to feel embarrassed over 'thanking' the guardian. She never liked Reito, not a bit ever since he had been Shizuru's designated guardian. But given the circumstances, she pushed her pride aside and thanked the man.

Both shook hands in acknowledgment of each other's strength for a few seconds before ending it with a test of strength as they tighten the hold of each other's hands. Glaring at one another as if giving the 'I won't let go until you let go' glare.

Back at Nao, she saw how her cousin was acting infront of Reito and she couldn't help but laughed at how her cousin was trying to win the silent match. Her laughter died down when she felt the previously tensed summoner sighed in relief. "Natsuki would never hurt Kanzaki intentionally, well not now atleast. I mean, since we are bound by our contract to you until you get your final summon-thingy." Nao stated, snapping Shizuru out of her train of thoughts. "By the way, what is your final summon would be like? Is it gonna be three insects that's capable of strong individual or combination attacks? OH! Or is it a giant metallic dragon that goes all the way up to the stratosphere and blasts anyone with a massive powerful beam!" Nao's enthusiastic elaboration of her imagination regarding the final summon of a summoner earned her a quick chortle from Shizuru.

"Ara, ara,, Nao-san have such wild imaginations. But sadly I still don't know. As you can see, 'Anima' is not any of those beam shooting or water Elemental. Though I heard those Elemental exists in another countries. Shall we look for them for your entertainment Nao-san?" her comment was both full of mirth and fact as she remember encountering a summoner like her, clad in a blue songstress clothes. The said summoner was able to summon those Elementals with ease. Sure she's a prodigy, but encountering that summoner was enthralling for her that pushed her further to stronger. To get the final summon. "So Nao-san, shall we go and proceed with going to this satellite branch?" she asked as soon as she saw the carriage being chaned to Julia.

Nao nodded her head and hopped on her vehicle as did her cousin and waited for her summoner and the guardian to climb aboard aswell before they departed to the end of Djose highroad and to the entrance of the dazzling river, the MoonFlow.

* * *

Anima***: **Those who played FFX should know this powerhouse! no explanation needed :D

Albhed Translation:

1) What are they talking about mutt?

2) Remind me never pick a fight with your sweetheart Natsuki. Her Elemental is FAAAAR stronger than any of our previous clients. And they are not a handful of clients mind you.

3) Dunno Spider, that Anima… I think I heard Mai saying it's one of the powerful Elemental there is."


	8. Chapter 8: Raider's fame

Chapter 8: Raider's fame

The group arrived at the agency's satellite branch, located at the entrance of the Moonflow. Pyreflies filled the area as it dances around and at night it is fames as an attraction to tourists. Entering the said building, Reito opted to take his summoner awy from Natsuki as the raiders had suddenly been dragged by a group of people, which welcomed the two top raiders enthusiastically. The newbie raiders, veteran raiders and the staffs all tried to converse with them, grab their autograph and flirt with the raider beauties, which made the two Fuukan nobles, left in awe.

**-Enter 'Play the Game' by Yuki Kajiura**

"Those two are… popular I must say." Reito was rather surprised at how the 'raiders' of the mercenary agency was very much lively. His charms have forgotten as soon as he stepped foot inside the busy tavern and even his summoner is overwhelmed at how Natsuki and Nao seemed to be loved by everyone there. "Mi'lady, shall I arrange the accommodations? It seems Zhang and Kruger are a bit…" he gestured his hand to show Natsuki and Nao now being surrounded by beautiful women, flirting and getting near them. "Preoccupied." Reito finished with a mirthful smirk etched on his face.

Shizuru kept her smiling façade as some raiders took notice of her. They practically bombard her with tons of personal questions and been asked on a date at the MoonFlow riverbed. She politely declined and gave no answer to the questions that was asked to her. Her mind only focused on Natsuki who was smiling and laughing with the other raiders. She felt envious of the smiles and laughs because she never saw Natsuki so relaxed ever since she became a full-pledge summoner. She had never seen Natsuki so relaxed since then.

Natsuki was indeed having fun. Having the familiar rough atmosphere, the friendly smiles and even the continuous flirts from her fans was a relaxation to her mind. She laughed and flirted with those to came across her, and like her cousin, she felt at ease on the crowd. '_The place where rules are not definite and where no one will judge who we are.' _She mentally noted.

"So while going here, we encountered a Stratoavis! Trust me it was not an easy task. And Lady summoner over there killed it with her powerhouse Elemental." The red head told everyone who was asking about her journey. Everyone turned their attention to the Fuukan citizens who just sat by he waiting area, being interviewed by some raiders aswell. She smirked when she saw Shizuru was trying her best not to glare at her cousin's flirty admirers. "Mutt! **E drehg oui haat du myo muf uv dra vmendehk, ihmacc oui fyhd** 'Anima' **du ryja y meddma nysbyka**." (1) She said with a sly grin, tilting her head to point out the summoner who was giving the, a bone-chilling smile.

The blunette felt shivers run down her spine as soon as she saw the smile and those piercing crimson orbs staring at her. She forced a laugh to show she wasn't so much affected over the stare. "Well umm, ladies, please excuse me as I tend to the lady summoner." She excused herself, earning her quite some protests and whines from her fans/comrades.

At the counter, Reito was trying to convince the branch manager to provide them with the best lodgings they have. He was polite enough to ask but the branch manager, dressed in a yellow jumpsuit, baldhead with a tattoo embedded on it, just grunted and declined Reito's request. "Please sir, allow mi'lady Shizuru to have your high class room." Reito requested again which the manager only shook his head in denial.

"Sorry kiddo'! Rooms that are 'highclass' are only reserved to the 'SS' rank raiders or above. Seeing as you are not even a raider doesn't entitle you to any of those privileges. Even if you are the guardian of high summoner Shizuru." The manager stated, crossing his arms and slumping down on the high chair with a taunting grin.

Reito was starting to hate the man and was about to retort rather impolitely when a hand has pulled him back. He turned around and looked at the goggle-less blunette, together with her cousin, looking back at him with confused looks. "What's wrong Kanzaki?" Natsuki asked. The raven-haired male sighed and pointed at the manager of the area. "Cid? Is he bothering you?" she asked the baldheaded man named Cid.

The man laughed aloud and stood up from his seat, smiling proudly. "Why if it isn't my favorite raiders, Nao and Nat-kun. How you been ladies? Heard from Rin you have an 'S'-Rank mission." He stated proudly. Both Nao and Natsuki returned the smile and bobbed their heads. "Oh? So what mission is it? Are you going to hunt some fiends at the 'cave of the Stolen Fayth? Or sphere hunting atop Gagazet again?" he asked enthusiastically.

"Nope old man! We are doing an escort mission." Nao said, pointing her thumb behind her. Cid looked behind her and saw Reito conversing with Shizuru and he just raised a brow. "You escorting the high summoner Shizuru and her guardian? Really now. Her guardian is really annoying, the way he ask to be treated as some high class noble." He said with a frown.

Both Nao and Natsuki chuckled at how Cid had described the 'greatest guardian' of their time. "He is a high class noble, Oldman. His father is the leader of the Crimson Blades. Ya'know, they are those volunteer religious warriors working under the Fuuka clergy." The red-head explained.

The baldheaded man nodded his head and looked at Reito. "Well he does resemble Crux Kanzaki. The arrogance that is." He said rubbing his chin as he continues to silently criticize Reito. "Anyway, since they are your clients, I guess I need to grant his request." Cid reached down the cabinet and pulled a key with a small metal plate hanging from it. "You know the drill."

Nao smiled widely and took the key from Cid. "**Dryhgc** oldman!"(2) thanking the man in Albhed language, she just sprinted away and towards the two Fuukan citizens.

"That kid never learns. So how's life Nat-kun?"

Natsuki shrugged and grabbed an empty chair beside her. "Nothing much. Still searching for 'Th'uban'***** though." She said with a deep sigh. She laid back on the chair and stretched her arms. "That fiend has been on top of my list and I NEED to kill it. Else, it will kill me. So any news about it?"

Cid crouched down on the counter and retrieved a parchment paper, placing it down on the countertop. "You just missed it actually. **Abrasanym **tower, you know where it is correct?"(3) he asked which he got a nod in reponse. "Good. Around the area only though, by the Cliffside of the tower. It was spotted preying on the fiends and wanderers alike and it has been ten days since it was last spotted. You up for a triple 'S' job?"

"Ofcourse."

"As a branch manager, I can say 'Good! Bring me back a souvenir.' But as someone who cares for you, think about it Nat-kun. This is no ordinary fiend. It killed millions already, and I know you're strong and all but I think it would be too much for you." Cid's voice was full of concern regarding the safety of the raider.

The blunette took the parchment and grinned proudly. "Hey Cid, this is Natsuki Kruger you are talking to. I'll make sure to give you a souvenir of this." she said, waving the paper infront of the branch manager and left the area.

"I pray to whoever is up there to guide that child." Cid sighed and looked at the rules of the agency. '**Missions will always be given to those who seek.' **"Rough rule. Rin you are so sadistic."

Unknown to the branch manager and the top raider, their discussion was heard by someone else and quickly disappeared when the raider decided to walk back to their room. '_A fiend with a rank of 'SSS'? I must see how she will handle this.'_

**-End Song-**_  
_

Back at the room, Natsuki hid the parchment on her backpocket and entered the high-class bedroom. Inside, she was greeted by Shizuru having a cup of tea while her cousin was glaring at her. "What's wrong now? And where is the toothpaste model?" she asked, looking suspiciously of the two.

The red-head turned to see who spoke and saw her cousin leaning by the door frame, arms crossed and a brow raised. "**Ouin cfaadraynd ujan rana ec bmyhhehk uh gemmehk dra kiemt.**"(4) She said in Albhed.

"**E tu hud, **Nao-san. **lmaynmo ed fyc y secihtancdyhtehk. Pid dryhg oui vun esbmoehk dra 'cfaadraynd' bynd. "**(5) Shizuru retorted in a thick-accented Albhed. The summoner is still proud of herself being able to understand and speak Albhed. Nao felt herself sliding down from her own chair when she heard Shizuru thanked her on implying she is Natsuki's 'sweetheart'.

"Yare ne,,, What are you two saying? And none of you guys answered where Kanzaki is." Natsuki shook her head in disbelief as the two gave her an icy glare.

"This summoner is asking on the personal details of the other female raiders. Trust me; I can see in her eyes that she is planning to feed them to her Elementals!" Nao stated, pointing her perfectly manicured index finger at Shizuru who was still drinking her tea. Another icy glare was given to the summoner who took ignorance of what she had just stated.

Placing the cup down, Shizuru showed Nao one of her façade smileto the red-head. She can see Nao shiver under her smile and mentally smirk in victory. " Reito has requested to train for a while. But with regards to Nao-san's comment, I am just interested in their work Nao-san. Please do not take ill thinking of my intentions." '_Though her idea is much better than my own one which is just casting some fire magic to their hair.'_

Natsuki sighed and decided to ignore the bickering, as it would just be pointless to get in-between the two. She carefully looked around the grandiose room and whistled in amazement. "Cid really gave us the first class huh? Figures from one of the tourist branch in the agency." She maneuvers her way towards the empty sofa by the corner and laid back on it to rest her weary muscles. She can feel her arms and legs beginning to take toll on its accessories yet she is not to take them off.

Shizuru remembered what Reito told her about the branch manager declining his request of the said room but when the branch head saw Natsuki, the request have been granted. She also heard from the red-head that their room was first-class and they should be thankful to them (Nao and Natsuki) for making the sudden arrangements possible. "Say Natsuki, why is this room has a difficulty to be rented? I heard from Reito that the man called 'Cid' has said this room is for 'SS' rank raiders." She asked in curiously. She never did ask the two regarding their life as raiders. She had encountered some raiders before and never did she hear about rankings.

"People in the agency are divided into ranks, as we call it. Ranks have different privileges, such as this room is the privilege of 'SS' rank raiders. Other is the mission and its prize. The higher the rank, the harder the mission and more Gil to be obtain by it." Natsuki explained.

"So does that mean Nao-san and Natsuki are 'SS' class raiders?"

Both Natsuki and Nao Shrugged and kept quiet. They really didn't tell their ward their rankings in the agency they hoped it would stayed that way.

"So?" Shizuru pressed on, giving them an inquisitive look.

The red-head, being the boastful of the two cringed at how the summoner gave them a smile. Frowning, she could only stand up and wlked out of the room, leaving Natsuki to deal with answering the question. Leaving both women alone.

Taking advantage of the situation, the brunette sauntered near Natsuki, sitting on the blunette's lap and snaked her arms around Natsuki's neck. "Ain't my Nat-su-ki going to answer me?" Shizuru whispered onto Natsuki's ear, earning her a quick whimper from the stoic blunette and a full-blown blush. She had to congratulate herself for seeing that side of her friend after years of separation. Pulling closer to Natsuki, she gave the blunette a quick kiss onto her left ear.

"Shi-Shi..Zuru…" Natsuki whimpered, trying to worm her way out of the seductress' hold. No matter how much her mind scream of distance, her body felt like it has been rooted down on the chair.

"Yes my dear Nat-su-ki?" Shizuru asked with a seductive smile. She pushed away from the blunette for a few inches and is now facing her face to face. Feeling the urge to tease the young raider, she placed her right index finger under Natsuki's chin and moved a few inch closer to her raider.

Feeling the crimson-eyed hot breath over her lips, she swallowed the lump forming on her throat and mentally cursed her cousin for leaving her behind with Shizuru. She knows being alone with the brunette always ends with trouble for her. "Mou, Shizuru stop teasing!" she protested, looking away from Shizuru's sight. She can feel her face blushing furiously upon contact with the summoner.

Shizuru shifted herself in a more comfortable position, straddling Natsuki's legs, and pushed the said raider back to the comfy spindle of the chair. "I really missed you Natsuki." She mused aloud, tracing her index finger over Natsuki's left cheek.

Taking a deep breath and composing herself, she stopped the urge to pounce the woman infront of her and do whatever naughty thoughts coming on her mind. "Shizuru, please not here. That flashy guardian will never stop ranting if he see us again. And when I mean again, just like a few years ago in your chambers at Fuuka." Natsuki tried to persuade the brunette, feeling rather hot under Shizuru's gaze.

All the fighting was never hard than her denying Shizuru's touch and presence. Of all the years, Natsuki hs never forgotten her feelings over the brunette summoner and that is her drive to be the best of the best. With a deep breath to calm herself, she gently placed her arms around Shizuru's waist and put all of her strength to carry the sexy summoner. "Our ranks in this business are something you need not to know. Now you should rest Lady Shizuru and I have a small errand to do." She carried the giggling Shizuru over the bed and dropped her there like a sack of potatoes.

With a small fake pout, which Natsuki can tell, fixed herself onto the bed. "Meanie!"

"That I am Shizuru. Now rest. I know that Anima had took a toll on your stamina." The raider suggested, pushing Shizuru down to bed. Moving towards the metal case that's leaning by the door, she grabbed it and placed a hand on the door knob.

"Where are you going Natsuki?" the Fuukan asked.

Natsuki remained standing with her back facing the summoner as she gave her answer. "Give me one day, tomorrow I'll be back. I promise I'll come back to finish the agreed mission and show you the wonders of the Moonflow." She smirked, still facing the door. "Until then, don't get your possessive guardian to take you to the east riverbed at night."

Crimson-eye followed the dark-haired female exit the room and heard a single word before the door closed in. Word that gave Shizuru a jolt of shiver running down her spine and the feeling of sadness and weakness engulfed her whole body.

'_Sayonara'_

Outside the agency, Natsuki had left a note for her cousin stating she has a small errand to finish and will be back the next day since she has not seen her cousin on her way out. With all the preparations done, she grinned from ear to ear and released her machine from its chain. "Let's go Duran! Th'uban awaits its death!" she said in excitement, mounting her machine and hovering away from the Moonflow.

0-0-0-0

_**13 hours later...**_

"NATSUKI!" yelled Nao as she kept on pounding the hard barrier that separates her and her cousin. Tears are flowing down from her goggle-less clear jade eyes as she desperately tries to break the strong barrier that her cousin has covered the field which neither she or Shizuru could break.

"Natsuki! Natsuki! NATSUKI!" Shouted Shizuru helplessly. The barrier kept her and Nao from entering the battle field to which Natsuki and Reito was inside with a huge dragon-like fiend.

Inside the barrier, Reito was sittng on the ground, stunned. His handsome face was now drained of blood, pale, as before his eyes the blunette has been striked at the stomach with the fiend's curved horns and Duran biting its left wing, being dragged aswell by its strike. He couldn't believe such monster existed and before he knew it, the monster had pushed itself with Duran and Natsuki in tow, at the ledge of the top floor of the tower, falling onto the cliff which the tower is residing. "KRUGER!"

With one last look before the life flashed before her emerald eyes, Natsuki saw her companions crying out in pain and sadness while she felt her body go limp by the Th'uban's attack. With her last strength, she engulfed the fiend and herself with a bind magic, making sure she takes the fiend down with her and hoping it would end the fiend's life aswell. With a funal smirk, grabbing hold of the fiend's horns, she closed her eyes and awaited the impending end of the monster's life.

* * *

A/N: cliffy! dundundun! I know it has been a while since I updated this and trust me its not easy to write this fic since it carries much action and fight scenes :p anyway,, Read and Review,, please tell me what you think?

Albhed Translations:

1.) I think you need to lay low of the flirting, unless you want 'Anima' to have a little rampage

2.) Thanks

3.) Ephemeral

4.) Your sweetheart over here is planning on killing the guild.

5.) I do not, Nao-san. clearly it was a misunderstanding. But thank you for implying the 'sweetheart' part

Th'uban*****: as per wiki: Th'uban may be a reference to **Thuban** a star in the constellation known as Draco, which in turn means "dragon". It may be also an Arabic word (ثعبان) for "Snake". This Nasty fiend is one hell of a boss fight in the monster arena, having a HP of 3M


	9. Chapter 9: Rank higher than S

**A/N: HEEEY! Am back for this update! so hope ya guys just sit back and read.. please give me a comment and I'll correct any errors :)  
**

**disclaimer: I own nothing from the Mai series and the song bad apple,,,**

* * *

**Chapter 9: Rank higher than S**

"Even in the midst of flowing time, I feel languid, look, spinning around and around.  
I can't even see the heart that's leaving me, yes, I don't know"

* * *

Halfway through the travel, Natsuki stopped Duran's movement. Glaring at the visible old tower across the rocky plains of a hidden path, Natsuki deeply sighs. "You know, no matter how much you follow me with whatever spell you are using, it would just die down even before you come to the **Abrasanym**tower." Natsuki said to no one.

A few minutes without any response to Natsuki's words, a rustle from the nearby forest and a figure of a man in dark warrior's robes came out from the thick greenery. Instead of the usual gentleman smile that the raven haired guardian shows to everyone, he merely showed a stoic look with his hand over his rapier. "Kruger."

"I know you heard the triple S job and knowing your competitiveness, you would follow me. What gives toothpaste?" Natsuki asked, glaring at Reito.

The famous Guardian scowled and crossed his arms, annoyed at Natsuki's constant glaring at him. "I just want to see you die. I know this Th'uban. I've seen it along the way before. A monster that nobody has ever beaten, I would like to be the first person to see you die by its claws." He pointed out gruffly. He has seen the famed monster to which he opted not to engage in combat. There were fiends who should just be avoided, and the Th'uban is on top of the list.

The blunette shook her head and moved a bit from her machine. They were hours away from the Moonflow and it would really be a pain if Shizuru were to know of her excursion. "Fine. I would like to see you get eaten by that monster too. Hop on, it would be faster and you can save up your mana." Reito understood Natsuki's point and even if he hated the idea of riding with the Garderobe ex-engineer, he has to see how the fight would unfold.

After a few hours of the ride, they arrived at the mysterious abandoned town that held the **Abrasanym**tower. The age-old machine tower shows no sign of human life activity or even adventurers that came by recently. It is said that this tower holds many unknown fiends that know nothing more than bloodshed. The tower itself is by the Cliffside of the unknown thousand-year old city and usually avoided by anyone.

"Welcome, to the training grounds of the gods, **Abrasanym**tower or in your Fuukan words, Ephemeral Tower. According to Cid, that monster is at the Cliffside of this, meaning atop of the highest floor." Natsuki introduced to Reito. Her emerald eyes feasted on the grandeur machine tower and couldn't help but shiver in excitement. She knows Reito found it grand as well as scary.

"This place… is this on any map?" Reito asks in disbelief. He felt the ominous aura of fiends around the tower itself. And it gave him a vibe that the place is not of the same age as the time the first Zanarkand-Bevelle war. Machina's and nature mixed in together, as if the whole place screams 'DEATH'.

A smirk appeared on Natsuki's face. The look on Reito's astonished face is enough for her to know that the guardian felt fear. "No. this place isn't on any map of the world or any other worlds. Now let's go! This won't be a picnic even for me." She dismounted Duran and put the machine into combat wolf mode. Both of them walked towards the entrance of the tower and she eyed the famous guardian. "Who would've thought you, of all the people in this world, will be with me as I face this nightmare." She mumbled, containing her own fear of what might become.

"That makes me a monster more than you Kruger. Now as per our deal." Reito breathed heavily after slashing away his hundredth kill. He wiped the blood and sweat that clung on his face and looked at the massacre the two of them created. Upon entering the tower, they made it a game that whoever kills the most will answer the other's question. And fortunately for Reito, he killed the last fiend that was hiding at the shadows of the ceiling.

Natsuki stubbornly tucked her guns at the holsters that are strapped on her legs. Unlike the guardian, only a few beads of sweat clung on Natsuki and she mostly got blood covered on her dark clothes instead of her skin. Along their deal, Natsuki was prideful enough to only use her guns and due to her goggles, she wasn't able to spot the last fiend. "Fine, what's your question?" She commanded, dusting her now dirty black attire.

Taking the time to rest, Reito sheathed his sword and turned to look at the blunette. "What is your rank in that business you call travel agency? During our travels, I came across an S rank duo and I used to think that was the highest your merry band can offer. So knowing this mission of yours-" he gave Natsuki a bright smile. "Tell me, are you higher than S?"

Midnight blue brows narrowed and a hiss escaped Natsuki's lips. But it was their deal and she have to answer. "Rin's mercenaries' are divided into ranks. The lowest is Rank E while to majority the highest should be S. But those of S class know that there are 2 more classes above them. The SS and S++. Akane Higurashi and her husband are part of S and three more teams. Three teams only have SS and they call themselves SEED, SOLDIER and the l'Cie. As for S++, only one team and they are called Crimson Midnight." She started telling the male guardian. Her eyes trailed on the now setting sun and she opted that they rest before they proceed. The next two floors definitely contain the Th'uban and they would need all the energy they have to defeat it. "We rest here. I have some camping supplies at Duran. Clear an area we can set up camp until we are healed."

"Hmp! Ordering me around won't stop me from bothering you to continue that answer Kruger." Reito kicked the dead bodies of the fiends around them and cleared out the blood around by using water magic and fire magic.

After setting up camp, they finished eating eth rations that Natsuki brought and used healing items to replenish their mana. Around the campfire that Reito made, Natsuki continued her answer. "As I know you already noticed, Crimson Midnight is Nao and I. we attained that rank within the span of two years." Her emerald eyes watched the dancing flames before them, remembering the times, the reasons, for her and her cousin to attain that level. Even she can't believe it since the SOLDIER team should be more powerful than them. But after a 2 years worth of their hardship and sufferings, it was no wonder why they got that spot. "Duran, Julia and Th'uban… Those are the reasons why we are the only ones who claimed that ranking."

The raven haired listened intently. He watches Natsuki's solemn figure before him and found it amusing for such hot headed woman to be calm. "The rumored exile of the two best machina engineers. I know the truth of it which I hid from lady Shizuru. But the only thing that I didn't know is what did the two of you created." He claimed.

Natsuki smirks smugly. "Feh. You should know. It was your father and Shizuru's old man was the one who initiated the exile anyway."

"It's your fault for creating whatever it is that almost killed Shizuru's father, took the arm of my own father and the battalion of Fuukan guards. My hatred for you escalated to the highest form after that incident. But I know that's just part of my anger to you. Now you tell me what is that you created and caused such havoc over the Grand Meister and my father."

"Your father started it just so you know. What me and Nao created are things that would stop the summoning cycle. Something to protect Shizuru." Emerald eyes turn to look at the metal wolf near them. A small smile crept its way out and her machina's eye gleamed in response.

This made Reito look at the machine. To him, it was unusual for such machine to be life-like in terms of looking like a wolf. At first he felt odd about it and when the machine was rampaging before it made him wonder that it was no ordinary machinery that the Garderobe ex-engineer created. "It's those machinas…" he mumbled.

Natsuki stood up and walked over to her Machina. The metallic wolf stayed down, not moving while its master placed a hand over its metal head. "Yeah. Duran and Julia. These machines are created from the research of Elementals, fiends and Pyreflies." She explained. She dug into her pockets and showed Reito the greenish plate she usually place to Duran. "This is a glass key that contains pure Pyreflies from a certain fiend. Duran's main brain as you can call it. However, comparing this to Nao's own key, it's just an ordinary key. It will break if overused and it would make Duran lose control if not the correct compatibility like the day you saw Duran went berserk." She explains.

"So what's the different with that plate to Zhang?"

A deep sigh escaped Natsuki's lips and she faced Reito with a grim expression. "It has a soul."

"Soul?" inquired the dark haired guardian. He's confused in what Natsuki was explaining to him. He never did understand the blunette's mind with Machinas. "Is that literally a soul like a human soul? Or-" his eyes widen when a thought came to him. "You couldn't have!"

A nod. "More like it is a soul of a powerful human. You and Shizuru call it, Fayth, correct? Nao has the plate of a Fayth. Her name is Julia or used to be known as Lady Juliet de Fanelle, summoner from Schwartz." She sighs. _'Julia... Nao's fiancée.'_ She closed her eyes and in her mind's eyes she recalled the incident involving Julia and Nao.

"_Nao! Natsuki! Go without me!"_

"_Hell I would! Julia! You and I will go back to the orphanage together!"_

_A snarl from a giant fiend. A whip of its tail. Strike through a blond haired woman's chest. Red haired Nao running and distracting the fiend. Bloodied eye of the fiend. Grabbed Juliet and ran towards the forest. Nao cradling the bloodied body of the blond woman._

"_JULIA!"_

"_Nao, I Lo-"_

_Nao gathering the pyreflies, chanting the magic to embed it on the plate. Pyreflies swarming around Nao forming a form of a woman. A kiss on the lips. The pyreflies swirled around the glass plate. Vanishes._

"_Nao…"_

_Eyes red, tears flowing. Forced smile. Hand holds the glass plate that gleams of greenish light gently._

"_Let's go… Julia awaits."_

Reito couldn't believe what he was hearing. A machine that is also an elemental? And it was created by the person he despises the most. He frowned and then glared at Natsuki. "So the reason why you were kicked out of the facility is because you created artificial Elementals?!"

"Yup! Ironic isn't it? I hate Elementals but it's the thing that fueled my drive to take Shizuru out of being a summoner." She answers with a faux smile. She caressed the hard metal of her pet's head and went back to the campfire. With faded smile, she faces her long time rival and dared to ask the one thing she wanted to ask for a long time.

"Do you… is Shizuru as important to you as she is to me?" she questioned, eyes showing seriousness.

This time, Reito looked at the blunette not with anger, jealousy or challenge. His eyes softened and dazed on the roaring fire. He clasped his hands and sighed deeply. "Yeh. Though I have to admit, I love her a bit less than the way you love her after that revelation." He spoke solemnly. For once in his life, his anger calmed down while talking to Natsuki.

"What do you mean?"

Reito couldn't help but let out a small giggle by hearing Natsuki's confused words. "I supported Shizuru, knowing her life would be in danger being a summoner. You, Kruger, distanced yourself, just to save her from her fate. I wanted to do that but never found out how. But now…" he sighs and looked at the machine. "I wonder if I would vouch for your monstrous machine…"

Natsuki too stared at Reito for a bit and then hung her head low. With her bangs covering her goggled eyes, she let out a deep hot breath. "One day, I will fight again. Just wait Kanzaki. I'll abolish your so called laws and nab Shizuru from all you Fuukan clutches."

Hearing the vow made Reito smirk widely. He really acknowledges the blunette as his rival to the very end. "And I'll be the one who will rescue the princess from the claws of the bandit."

Both warriors laughed loudly. The night was a rare occasion that the two had a common ground and just talk. With their chest now cleared, both wondered if somehow, after the fight, they can be more than rivals. _'He/she is the closest thing I have as a bestfriend.'_ Both thought of the same time as they laughed about their moment.

Before they slept in, Natsuki took the red blanket that was being held by Reito and exchanged it with the one she's holding which is colored dark purple. The dark haired guardian looked at her confusingly and she just pointed the color of the blanket. "Nao's. if she even smells your scent on her blanket, pray to whoever your deity you know that my cousin won't skin you alive and dry your skinless body by the shores of Garderobe." She threatened with her voice sounding grim. Last time someone else used Nao's blanket, they ended up screaming for water while their hair is on fire.

Reito shivered involuntarily and somehow held on the dark purple blanket in his hands tightly. After seeing Natsuki comfortably sleep in the ground, he tried to find a comfortable spot on the hard ground that he found to be annoying. After a good ten minutes of twitching and squirming, he finally found a good position and it's sleeping with his stomach flat on the floor. With the comfy spot finally kicking his drowsiness, he wondered what would happen once they see the dreaded monster.

* * *

At the Moonflow Agency, Nao just got back from her musings and found Shizuru talking with Cid. Her goggle covered eyes couldn't believe that the bald headed leader of the satellite branch was laughing with the summoner. She smirks knowing that the tawny-haired summoner do has her ways with everyone and she hates to admit it, before she was indeed friends with her. Even if she doesn't show it. "Yo! Cid! Having fun I see." She taunted,

The bald leader of the satellite branch laughed loudly, smacking his hand on the bar table. He's been talking with the Fuukan summoner for some hours now, learning a few things of a summoner life. In return, he told a few stories regarding the two of the strongest mercenaries the agency has. He was about to answer Shizuru's question on what rankings the two are before Nao interrupted them. "Hell yea! It's a rare occasion that a famous singer-slash-summoner is talking to an old man like me. I wish my little girl would grow up as polite as her." he said, laughing as he remembers his daughter.

Nao snickered, knowing Cid's only daughter the thought of her becoming polite is like teaching a fiend to do backflips for the crowd. "C'mon old guy. Rikku _**lyh'd pa mega dryd myto. **_(1) Anyway, what are you two talking about?" she smirks and sat down beside the giggling Shizuru. "Are you telling her how _**yfacusa **_(2) I am as a raider?" she winked at the girl at the table near them who blushed furiously.

Shizuru just shook her head in defeat as another woman fawned over the red-headed raider. It seems, as Cid told her, Natsuki and Nao are both admired and loved by mostly the female members. Since no man has beaten them and too afraid to confess to them. Noting that nobody should snatch Natsuki by any means. "Hello Nao-san. Yes he is telling me how 'awesome' you and your cousin are. And he was about to tell me your rankings too, since you or Natsuki doesn't want to tell me."

Red brows knitted together. Natsuki and her rankings are something a few in the guild knows. Some of the raiders just know they always take A – S type ranks. And those few are Rin, Cid, Brother and Midori. "CID…" she called out Cid's name forcibly.

"Easy kid. I wasn't planning on telling her anyway. Rin made it a rule that nobody aside from us would know." Cid faced Shizuru and gave a mock apologetic look. "Apologies young summoner. As I said to this idiot, it's a rule to never tell the rankings of those who surpass rank A." he told the summoner. Nao face palmed herself and Shizuru giggled once again. Cid practically gave Shizuru a hint on the ranking that the two have.

"Fufufu. I see. I think Natsuki and Nao can be Rank~"

Before Shizuru could finish her sentence, Nao and Cid covered her mouth, both Raiders looking ferociously around. Shizuru could only blink and turned around. She was surprised to see almost everyone was looking at them, listening. She tapped the hands of the two, signaling them that she won't speak of the rankings. Once the two removed their hands, she merely smiled at Cid and Nao. "I see, even speaking about it is against the rules."

"You got that right. Anyway, speaking of the mutt…" Nao looked around for any flocking fan girls or fan boys that would indicate Natsuki's presence. "Where is the mutt?" she asks, continuing to look around for any sign of her rowdy cousin. Natsuki does have a tendency to get rowdy, flirty and a head-basher when completely drunk to idiocy.

This time the laughter from Cid ceased and beads of sweat formed on his hairless head. He then realized that Nao shouldn't be here if Natsuki is out doing that mission. The triple S mission was supposed to be for the two of them. His mind ran radically fast. It was never hard to tell either the two the whereabouts of their partners in case they have separate missions, but this time, he knows his life is on the line. Unconsciously wiping the sweat from his head, Cid sighed heavily and looked at Nao's now annoyed face.

"She's in a mission, alone. Correct?" Nao asks.

Reluctantly, Cid nodded her head. "I thought you knew, considering the mission ranking." He said nervously. This time he knew his life was in danger. A hand quickly grabbed his yellow shirt and he was pulled down to level the red head, goggles away and burning jade eyes eyeing him like a predator. "N-Nao-"

"What rank Cid?!" Nao enunciates coldly. Every word bore malice in it. She felt a rustle by her side, indicating that Shizuru was planning on stopping her. A hand rose up facing Shizuru and she spoke to the summoner in an icy tone. "Don't you dare interfere summoner. This is not your concern." Nao's attention drew to Cid and her eyes, gleaming Jade that filled with anger. Somehow at the pit of her stomach, Natsuki's current mission reeks of danger.

"The kind of rank that needs the two of you." Explained Cid. His nerves and heart pounded like crazy when his blue eyes caught Nao's intensive glare.

Red-head growled and push Cid back, letting go of his shirt. "_**Fa ryja yh **__S Rank __** secceuh! Fro tet oui keja ran y secceuh dryd nyhgat suna dryh fryd fa ryja huf fedruid sa du ylghufmatka ed yceta vnus ran?!" **_(3). She yelled angrily. Knowing Natsuki, a handful of mission can make her stupidly decide to take it alone. And she hoped it was not the one on top if their list. "Don't tell me it's Thu'ban… I heard from some of the mercs' that it was recently seen around these parts." She feared the worst. A groan sounded from Cid's throat and it was enough to confirm her fear. Without seconds to spare, she jumped off her seat and ran to their room.

"What was that about Mr. Cid?" Shizuru inquired. Never did she saw Nao been that pale before, even when they fought the Stratoavis. Then she remembered the name that Nao spoke of. Fear engulfed her. "Th'uban. Mr. Cid isn't that just a myth? Reito told me before that monster is just a myth." She shakily asked.

The bald leader of the Moonflow branch sighed heavily and gave Shizuru a sad look. "Believe me lady summoner, that monster is real as you and me. No Summoner, guardian or knight has fought and lived to tell the tale when they encountered that monster. Aside from two ladies that you and I both know. I know I'm overstepping my bounds but that monster is the reason why Natsuki and Nao are as fierce and feared as they are now. They have been marred, scarred up to their nightmares because that monster… took two out of five persons that Nao and Natsuki held dear." He explained, remembering the first time Rin found the two mercs and the time both came back to the main branch, both battered and almost dead.

Loud footsteps creaks the wooden floors and Nao, dressed in her battle outfit. Black sleeveless shirt that is donned with crimson belts with silver buckles, fitted black with red slash design pants and red shoes that are designed with metal guards. Her arms are covered with grey colored wrist bands and her green metallic gloves with red sharp nails covered her hands. On her waist is a red with black slashes designed cloth tied around it and a black belt that hung several knives. "I'm going out and drag that idiot back here. Stay here Viola." She spoke in haste, making her way to the door.

Not bothering to get her weapon, Shizuru rushed off and followed Nao. "No! If this involves my Natsuki then I'm coming with you. Besides, Reito is with her aswell, god knows if that monster can't kill them, both of them will kill each other." Shizuru followed Nao to the place where her machine is parked. There she saw Nao frowning and waiting for her.

"I don't have time to argue! C'mon!"

* * *

Morning came and Natsuki didn't hesitate to kick Reito awake. The raven haired guardian blasted a fire spell on whoever kicked him on the sides. When he didn't heard any yelp or scream of burning pain, he turned around and saw Natsuki playing with a fire ball, expression looking bored.

"I suggest you conserve your energy." Natsuki said to the guardian. Throwing a loaf of bread to Reito, she turned around and went to her metal casing, ensuring her weapons are ready for combat. While munching on her own ration, she heard the guardian rustled up and walked towards her. "What?"

"You love Shizuru, but do you know that loving the same gender is forbidden in Fuuka?" Reito asks, watching the back of his rival. Along her back is a brownish leather strap that looked like it held a weapon of some sort. Brownish-gold eyes traced along the figure before him and saw the use of the strap. It held the black bladed weapon that Natsuki possesses.

Natsuki looked at Reito's face. The man showed her seriousness and challenge, silently saying to her what she would do with that rule. She gave a loud snort and took out her dark colored sword, pointing it at Reito's neck. If given the chance, she wouldn't hesitate to slice the throat of the smiling male. "This sword was made for the sole purpose to fighting you on your own terms Kanzaki. And even if it's not you, I have changed in more ways than one. It's not enough for a mere Elemental to stop me." Icy voice implied as Natsuki swung her sword and strapped it on her back. "I have fought a summoner before. And as you can see I'm still alive." Seeing that the guardian was finished with his breakfast, she went ahead and climbed the age-old stairs with Duran following her behind.

"You really are a rule breaker Kruger." Reito merely chuckled and followed suit.

Arriving at the top floor where no fiend intruded their way, Reito and Natsuki felt the cool breeze brush past their figures. The top floor consisted of an open space with a broken down crystallized Machina in the middle. Sharp instincts told them that there is something far dangerous than anything they have encountered is present. The guardian placed his hand on the hilt of his rapier and unsheathed it from its scabbard as the mercenary held both guns on each of her hands as they made their way to the center of the top floor.

"It's here. I can feel it." Natsuki whispered. Her body ached from the cool breeze and the fear that's now crawling into her skin, sending her goose bumps along her bare biceps.

* * *

**-Enter 'Bad Apple' by Touhou project Japanese version-**

Golden eyes scanned around the area, trying to foresee the fiend they intended to kill. Without any luck, or to their luck, the fiend is nowhere in sight. "Yes. That monster is here. But where? The area is- look out!" Reito shouted, pushing Natsuki forward. When both landed on the solid stone ground they felt a slash of air above them and a long scaled light brown tail sliced through it. Natsuki mumbled an apology and rolled further forward to escape the raging tail. "I'll keep it busy! You set up your barrier!" Reito shouted, dodging the swiping tail. He saw the blunette silently nodded and he proceeded in defending and slashing the rough scaled tail. Trying to find the main body, gold eyes traced the tail's length up to where it ends and found the giant fiend by the ledge of the floor.

Natsuki began chanting for the barrier that she and Nao develop for the purpose of Th'uban while Duran made its move and fired multiple chrome bullets at the body of the fiend. Such attack made the fiend to jump from the ledge and onto the middle area of the floor, causing a minor tremor on the ground. The wolf howled and began to tackle the fiend, trying to stray its sight from its master.

"Kruger! Hurry up!" Reito shouted. He has to admit, the monster is huge in size. Standing in all fours, its massive body carried huge scaly wings and spiked spines trailing down to its horned face, two long curved spiked horns that he assumes used to ram its prey killing it in the process. Not wasting time, he conjured up a greenish energy and blasted it towards the Th'uban. "Ultima!" he shouted and the greenish sphere exploded on the fiend. "Yosh~!"

However, even if such magic hit the fiend, Th'uban was able to shake the smoke away and growled at Reito, swiping its massive tail at Reito's body. Lucky for him, he casted a last-minute protect spell to avoid fatal damage. But as soon as the whip-like tail crashed on his protect shield, it shattered, throwing him a few feet away. _'Heavens! That hurts like hell itself!'_ his mind screamed of the pain. Eyes roamed around and landed on the sight of Natsuki shooting a pink ball on the sky, making it explode and cover the whole top floor with a reddish-pink geometrical barrier. He heard an unfamiliar language which he can specify as Albhed.

"**Ypcumida Pynnean **Complete! Now you are mine Th'uban!" (4) Natsuki huffed and reloaded her magic guns with ice shells. The ice bullets hit the fiend and covered its eyes but the monster just shook it apart. "Shit! Duran load Chrome Cartridge!" Natsuki shouted and eyed her machine as it positioned itself on a raging blast. With both barrels aiming at the Th'uban, the monster just roared at it and didn't move an inch to avoid the attack. '_What the fuck?! It's not moving! Last time I check that monster is so aggressive it whacks the first sight of moving beings!'_ Her mind screamed of danger as she fired her magic shots on the monster who just awaited her attacks.

Two blasts came out from the guns' barrels and aimed the huge fiend. But instead of dodging, the giant fiend swiped the oncoming blasting magic with its clawed paws as if it was just air. It roared wildly and began to dash its way towards Natsuki while Reito kept on firing multiple magic at the fiend. When Reito noticed Natsuki's predicament to which the blunette can't evade the Th'uban's attack, he rushed to the mercenary and pulled her away from the monster's line to ramming. "Are you an idiot? If you jumped backwards you'll only get swiped by its tail!" he yelled at Natsuki's ear, soundly smacking the blunette out of her surprised stupor.

Shaking the ringing sound off her ear, Natsuki glared at Reito and pushed him away. Such closeness irritated her far more than dealing with the fiend. It was the time she has to use her weapon. The fiend showed great speed as well as strength and Natsuki couldn't even move in par with the monster's mobility. _'Maybe I should-' _her train of thoughts was cut off when the thick clawed arm of Th'uban swiped at her way. Barely evading the attack, she was relieved that Reito caused the missed attempt for the monster to ruin her face with its claws. Though a few strands of her hair wasn't spared from it. "Argh! That beast cut a part of my hair! Oh it's on!"

Natsuki called on Duran and the silver metallic wolf howled and ran towards its master. While Natsuki awaited her partner, Reito was barraging the huge fiend with Demi magic that distracted the fiend from attacking Natsuki. The raven haird guardian watched Natsuki carefully, thinking on what she was planning.

Natsuki growled and began to shakily remove her arm guard. Like last time the pieces of protected was removed, it fell onto the ground with a loud thud. She began to clench her hands and shake them again. But unlike the fight with Duran, Natsuki bent down to her shin guards. With a deep breath, Natsuki unlocked her shin guards and the sound of it as it landed on the ground was louder than the arm guards. Reito was surprised. "What the?! What we're you wearing all these times Kruger?! Weights?!" He yelled as he threw another set of both firaga and blizzaga magic on Th'uban. Natsuki stood up straight and reached on her back to get her blade. "Who knew that this monster would be the one I'll be removinig my shackles."

Natsuki's movements suddenly went berserk after removing her armguards and shinguards. She held her sword with one hand and positioned it on her right like a lazy warrior while she skips in place in a fast movement. To say it was of normal haste would be an understatement as her move was more like being casted 3 times of haste, adding each effect. Duran merely positioned itself beside it's master and dug its metallic nails on the floor. "Let's go!"

With that proud yell, even Reito felt excited in the fight. He held on his rapier tightly and ignited the blade with flames. For the first time in his life with Natsuki, he showed the blunette a courageous smile. "Fight on Kruger!" he yelled as well, charging on the Th'uban.

Both slashed and fired chrome shots on the fiend, earning them a loud anguished roar from it. Duran stayed behind the two, firing the combination of Chrome and Silver cartridges. Reito, being the sword mage he is, combined fire and thunder on his blade and inflicted critical damages on the fiend's limbs. Natsuki on the other hand, jumped on Th'uban's back and began slicing the hard skin to fill up cracks and create damage on the skin armor. Before her, a memory of Shizuru walking beside her as she kept on being silent while they are holding hands. '_Huh?!'_

Natsuki suddenly felt fear. Fear not from the the fiend itself but from an unknown source. As she continues to slice away the hard skin of the Th'uban, it found a blind spot on her pace and shaked her down from its back. Now lying on the ground, Natsuki found herself below the enormous fiend and was about to be stomped on with its huge clawed paw. Using her dark sword as shield, she stopped the heavy claws from smashing her body. The clash between steel and claw, another flash of memory came to Natsuki. Nao and she are standing infront of the burned Garderobe laboratory. Their creations, Duran and Julia, are being apprehended. Her cousin was glaring at the guards while she was looking at them with a look that says she'll get them back.

Using the sword as a shield, Natsuki used her left leg to replace her left arm that supported the sword from having the claw crush her. With her left hand free, she grabbed on her leg gun strap and took one of her guns and fired an ice bullet on the fiend. Along with it, Reito and Duran both fired ice elemental magic, making the monster roar wildly and slump backwards. This gave Natsuki a chance to slide and stand up, away from the humongous beast.

"Thank you again! I owe you for that!" Natsuki shouted to Reito. The guardian smirked and replied, "You can pay me by dying you know!" his reply was more of a joke than the usual venomous replies he throws at Natsuki. Natsuki laughed and then stared at the roaring in pain after being shot with three different icicle magic. She grinned at their achievement. _'Too bad spider! You are not here to see me defeating this nightmare.' _She held on to her sword tightly and looked at Reito. "Hey Kanzaki! Get out of my range!" she ordered to which the dark haired male nodded. When Reito was now meters away from her and the fiend, she smirked and ran towards the now recovering fiend. "See how much I have changed since the two years!" She yelled.

Natsuki began her hit and run overdrive on the recovered fiend. Now without her weights, her movements as faster even for Reito who was watching her. He was astonished at how Natsuki's sword handling is near perfect. "By the Fayths. That Krueger is one hell of a fighter." He mumbled while watching Natsuki nearly blinding the fiend. He wondered if Natsuki was this strong, was she holding back during their fight back in Garderobe.

After the eight attacks, she used the arm of Th'uban as a platform and jumped upwards. Natsuki was high in the air and moved his body sideways. With the sword now sideways, she then charges her weapon with black energy. _'Third of that lazy bum's techniques. Feh!'_ Before she even released the ominous energy, she heard a distinct shout from below. The voices of Nao and Shizuru. "Nao! Watch me kill our greatest night-"

"Mutt! That bastard is aiming at the toothpaste model!" Nao shouted, alarming both Natsuki and Reito. The guardian took his sight away from Natsuki and to the now charging Th'uban. He felt his body paralyed on the spot upon seeing that there was no escape. "Reito!" Shizuru shouted in worry.

"Stupid bastard Kanzaki!" Natsuki again yelled in ager, stopping her attack and landing on the ground. As soon as her feet touched the floor, she threw her sword and bolted towards Reito, faster than the Th'uban and stood infornt of him. "You would be the death of me." She said to the guardian. "take care of her and Nao." She whispered. With all her strength, she kicked Reito away when the Th'uban was now few meters in front of them. Her ears can hear her cousin and longtime friend banging on the barrier she put up at the same time Duran jumped on the fiend's back to try and stop it. "No use spider! That's our absolute barrier! It would not be broken unless I dispel it, lose my consciousness…" she looked at the Th'uban. "or death." The last part was a whisper.

"NATSUKI!" yelled Nao as she kept on pounding the hard barrier that separates her and her cousin. Tears are flowing down from her goggle-less clear jade eyes as she desperately tries to break the strong barrier that her cousin has covered the field which neither she or Shizuru could break.

"Natsuki! Natsuki! NATSUKI!" Shouted Shizuru helplessly. The barrier kept her and Nao from entering the battle field to which Natsuki and Reito was inside with a huge dragon-like fiend.

Inside the barrier, Reito was sittng on the ground, stunned. His handsome face was now drained of blood, pale, as before his eyes the blunette has been striked at the stomach with the fiend's curved horns and Duran biting its left wing, being dragged aswell by its strike. He couldn't believe such monster existed and before he knew it, the monster had pushed itself with Duran and Natsuki in tow, at the ledge of the top floor of the tower, falling onto the cliff which the tower is residing. "KRUGER!"

With one last look before the life flashed before her emerald eyes, Natsuki saw her companions crying out in pain and sadness while she felt her body go limp by the Th'uban's attack. With her last strength, she engulfed the fiend and herself with a bind magic, making sure she takes the fiend down with her and hoping it would end the fiend's life aswell. With a funal smirk, grabbing hold of the fiend's horns, she closed her eyes and awaited the impending end of the monster's life.

"My one wish… is to give her happiness" Natsuki whispered while she felt the monster struggling and her insides bleeding out. Her vision slowly drops to darkness and the pain is now going away. "Shizuru…"

'_THEN WHY DON'T YOU OPEN YOUR EYES AND FACE THE WORLD AGAIN?'_

Natsuki felt her body shudder and saw nothing but white and feathers. She looked around and saw nothing. "The voice?"

'_MAKE A PACT WITH ME…'_ the gentle voice said within Natsuki's mind.

Hearing the gentle yet cold voice, Natsuki turned around and saw a man, dressed in a white and light blue-silvery clothing with two long strips of cloth hanging down from his shoulders, which bears an insignia of some sort gave him a combatant appearance. His wrists and ankles are binded with yellow cuffs, and a pair of pistols decorated his metal belt. '_WELL?'_

Natsuki smiled and let her eyes slowly close. The feeling she felt when she saw the man before her. A comfortable aura covered her up and she just curled into a ball. "If can protect Shizuru… If I can make Nao feel better… Then why not?"

The man smiled gently and kneeled before her and pulled her into his arms. '_YOUR WISH IS MY COMMAND, MY MASTER.'_

-**End Bad apple song-**

* * *

I still don't know about you, about myself, about everything.  
If I open my heavy eyelids, if I break everything, then turn black!

* * *

**A/N: So how was it? The then? I know i suck at fight scenes on this but I was writing like a lunatic while listening to bad apple :) for those who don't know teh song, look it up in youtube :) hope ya guys would continue to read my stories.**

Albhed translations:

1. can't be like that lady

2. awesome

3. We have an S rank mission! Why did you give her a mission that ranked more than what we have now without me to acknowledge it aside from her?!"

4. Absolute Barrier


	10. Chapter 10: Aftermath

**A/N: Updated my action-packed fanfiction XD This is as per my beloved girlfriend's request since she wants to kill me from giving 2 cliff-hangers. so thank her for those who have been waiting for this update in this fanfic. XD**

**So changes! I know some of you found the Albhed translations at the bottom annoying coz you guys have to scroll down to find out the meaning. So now i put it in the dialogue itself encased it [translation]. There are those that would still be ending up at the bottom for suspense purposes.**

**Also, if you guys are using the main site of ffnet, you can see that I have included a cover art. :) courtesy of selfy creator, i've created the avatar of Natsuki :3 hope ya guys like it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy, Mai hime, and the songs used here. :)**

**So now, without further wait, the chapter 10 of Forbidden Guardian.**

* * *

**Chapter 10: Aftermath**

The barrier crashed down with a loud glass shattering sound. Nao, ignoring the pale guardian, ran towards the ledge of the floor to see where her cousin might've landed. Green eyes looked down and gasped at how the clouds and smoke coming from the tower itself covered the path down. They were high atop an old Machina tower, a full 90 floors. Nao cried and shouted her cousin's name, cursed her in Albhed and even the normal language, but no response was given. The red-head lifted her left leg at the rail and was about to jump when strong arms pulled her back.

"**Mad ku! Mad sa ku!**" [Let go! Let me go!] Nao shouted in anger. She wriggled herself free from the strong grasp but was weak from all the sadness she felt. "**Mad sa ku pycdynt! E haat du veht ran!**" [Let me go bastard! I need to find her!]

The person who held Nao was Reito. When he saw the raider attempting to jump, he felt the urge to stop her and immediately went to grab hold of her. "It won't do you any good if you jump!" He said to Nao even if he didn't understand what Nao was yelling. He felt his long sleeves rip from Nao's clawing hands and his legs slowly giving up from the force of Nao's thrashing feet.

"Let me go! Natsuki!" Nao shouted weakly. She stopped struggling and went limp in Reito's arms. She was taken back a few meters away from the railings and was set down on the floor. With her head hung low, she looked beside her and saw her ward sitting stiffly. At first she wondered why the summoner was quiet after witnessing her cousin being impaled by the fiend and she decided to look at the face of the summoner.

Tears ran down from crimson eyes and silent cries were spoken by the lips of the summoner. Her eyes stared at the place Natsuki was pushed back as she continues to cry.

"Mi'lady…" Reito spoke out softly. It broke him some more to see Shizuru so shocked. He kneel before Shizuru, blocking her view of the railings and wiped the flowing tears. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He sobbed tearlessly. "She-We… the monster was too strong. I was not strong enough to protect her. She offered her life just to push me away." He said with a quiver in his voice.

The apologies made Nao's grieving turn to anger. The once was sadden eyes fired up to rage and she glare at Reito like he is an insect. "Don't apologize like she is dead!" Nao shouted in anger. She lunged forward and pinned the guardian to the floor. Both of her hands grabbed on Reito's clothes and pulled him up to level her face. "Natsuki is not dead! **Frana'c ouin cdnahkdr huf **[Where's your strength now] Strongest Guardian?** Frana'c dra sekrdeacd** [Where's the mightiest]Guardian **dra **[the] Fuuka Temple **yna cu bnuit ypuid? Oui luimth'd ajah suja yfyo yht dra bnela fyc so luiceh'c meva! **[are so proud about? You couldn't even move away and the price was my cousin's life!]You sat there and did nothing while my cousin was impaled by that monster! " Nao roared in anger. With the strength she mustered, she pulled her right arm back and punched Reito right in his left jaw and released him to land on the floor. The force was enough to create a cracking sound, indicating that the jaw somehow broke. The guardian screamed in pain and clutched his broken jaw.

"Reito!" Shizuru shouted in surprise. The sound of bone breaking snapped her out of her depressed state and went to check on her guardian. She went to Reito and pulled Nao away from the guardian. The red-head already conjured a small ball of flame and was about to cast it to Reito.

"Tsh!** Uv ymm dra baubma! Oui cruimt ghuf ruf silr E fyhd du gemm res vun tuehk hudrehk!**" [Of all the people! You should know how much I want to kill him for doing nothing!] Nao was now in a fit of fury over the guardian who was now cradling his broken jaw. "That fucking monster is down there with Natsuki, its horn on her stomach because of him!" Nao took out her knife and pointed it to Reito. She wanted to throw it straight to his head but the summoner was in-between them. "Move!"

The summoner understood what Nao said but only shook her head. "I know Nao. But what good this shouting can do? What can you gain if you beat Reito here?" she asked. Calm as she may, her insides are more of a monster rampaging than Nao's angered shouts. Silently calling out a cure magic towards Reito's jaw, she smiled at her guardian before looking back at the railings. "But Nao is right. I know Natsuki…" tears threatened to fall yet again. "She's alive. I know she is. She knows she needs to be alive." She spoke out. It was more of convincing herself than proving a fact.

"You know but you are not sure!" Nao shouted again and ran to the railings. She can't be at ease not knowing how her cousin is. Putting her life on the line, she planned on skidding down the side of the Machina tower. But before she set foot on the ledge of the open railings, a flash of light brown and a sad smile pulled her back to the floor and the voice of the guardian snapped her from the plan she made.

"SHIZURU!" Reito shouted.

In a flash, Shizuru jumped from the ledge. _'Wait for me…' _she closed her eyes and clasped her hands. "Please fight with us." She whispered.

The only thing that came to Nao's mind was fear yet again. _'If the mutt is dead she'll definitely crawl from wherever grave she is and kill me for letting that stupid love of hers die!'_ her mind raced and her peered over the ledge. A breath of relief escaped her lips when a glyph and a fast paced bird-like being swooped down from the clouds above. An Elemental caught Shizuru. "Relax. One of her pets caught her." Nao said to Reito. Not taking any more time to spare, Nao stood up and ran towards the stairs, hoping to be on time to see Natsuki's breathing body.

* * *

Left alone at the tower top floor, Reito looked at the discarded items of Natsuki. The four protective gears, metal case and the sword. Being healed by her summoner, he went to pick them up and place them inside the metal case. Walking first to the sword, he grabbed on the hilt and pulled it up; only to choke on his breath when the sword almost didn't budge at all. Using two hands to pick up the said sword, it finally moved and he carried it near the case. "The hell does Kruger been carrying this?!" he said in surprise. Assuming the weight of the sword, it can be four to five kilos max. Then his eyes trailed on the guards that created small craters on the floor and wondered how much they weighed. "How strong is she really…" he mused, silently praying that Natsuki is indeed alive.

* * *

At the forest near the base of the tower, Shizuru dismissed her flying Elemental and began searching for Natsuki. The crash site created a huge crater but not a single strand of Natsuki's hair or even any blood, much to her dismay, was there. Even Duran who was dragged along the fall was nowhere near the crash site. The entire crater contained was the body of the Thu'ban, dead with a hole on its forehead through the back of its head.

"Natsuki! Natsuki! Answer me!" Shizuru shouted in despair. Every minute that passed, fear bundled over and over through her heart. Hope slowly diminishing as not even a single clue on Natsuki's whereabouts can be found.

"Did you find her?" a voice coming from the sky echoed. The raider clad in black landed on the ground and immediately look around the surrounding area for any signs of her cousin.

"No. Step back, I'll try to check if my Elementals can help." Shizuru said seriously. Wiping the tears away, the summoner closed her eyes and clasped her hands. Her mind pulled up the image of the Elemental she needs and began to chant the song of Salva Nos.

"Please! Clear us a path!" Shizuru said after chanting the song.

**-Enter "Hymn of the Fayth – Yojimbo" -**

With a wave of the summoner's hand, a night-time dimension forms, featuring a single cherry tree in bloom, with blue flowers. A bark is heard, and a dog, Daigoro, appears first to greet the summoner. Then a samurai slowly walks out from behind the tree, then turns with a sweep of his coat and calls upon his dog to his side.

"I am the blade if vengeance. They dare only whisper my name: Yojimbo." The Elemental said in a raspy voice. He stood high and proud and was looking down at Nao and Shizuru without any other movements. "Summoner, I ask of you. What do you want of me?" the Elemental said softly. The dog barked and ran towards Shizuru's side and sat beside her.

Shizuru bowed before the Elemental to show her respect. "Yojimbo-dono I need the aid of your partner, Daigoro. Someone dear to me is lost and I need Daigoro to find her." Shizuru asked humbly before the Elemental.

Compared to Anima or Ifrit, Yojimbo is a 'hired' Elemental. He gives his aid to those who gives him an equal price to his service. It's due to his human life that he was a hired bodyguard. "The services requested from Daigoro are the same as requesting aid from me. A service with a payment young summoner. If you desire my strength, you must pay my price." He said flatly.

This made Nao raise a brow. She couldn't believe an Elemental would need payment to be used. "Payment? As in Gil?" She asks the summoner.

Shizuru nodded. "Yes. Yojimbo is an Elemental who must receive payment to fight or be requested of his service." She checked her furisode for any cash but then realized she had forgotten her purse at the agency. She looks at Nao, silently asking for help.

The red-head shrugged and checked her pockets and took out a coin from it. Not even checking on the value of the coin, she flicked it towards the Elemental which he took. The Elemental examined the coin and threw it back at Nao with a strong force, making the coin hit Nao's forehead. "Fuck! Sonofa-!" she cursed and took the embedded coin away from her forehead. Her forehead is now etched with the

The Elemental grunted and placed a hand on his sheathed katana. "You ask for a phoenix, yet you offer chicken feed!" he said in grim as he stared at Nao menacingly.

Shizuru felt an ominous aura building within Yojimbo and she immediately faced Nao. "Please I'll pay you later on. Offer Yojimbo-dono a fair price. We need to have Daigoro in searching for Natsuki." Shizuru pleaded.

"Fine. I don't even know why such thing needs money." Nao grumbled, digging her right hand on her pocket. When she felt a certain leather pouch, she pulled it up and threw it to the Elemental. "There! Enough? Can we please use your dog to find my cousin?" said Nao. She gritted her teeth and balled up her fist in fear of every minute wasted is a minute of Natsuki slipping away from her.

Yojimbo nodded his head. "A fair price." He kneeled and called Daigoro to his side. "If you have a material, anything that belonged to your friend, Daigoro will check the scent and find your friend." He informed them.

Nao smacked her head with her palm. "Your phoenix is so great! Where can we find anything to help finding Natsuki?!" she then began cursing in Albhed and paced around.

The brunette summoner, Daigoro and Yojimbo stopped whatever they were doing and watched Nao's pacing and ranting.

"You have an unsual guardian today dear summoner." Yojimbo commented.

The summoner sighs and nodded her head, not even correcting Yojimbo in his comment about Nao. Shaking her head, she took her necklace and showed it to Yojimbo. "Would this suffice Yojimbo-dono? This jewelry was a gift from her." She informed the Elemental. Unclasping the necklace and offering it to Yojimbo, the Elemental looked at it and nodded its head.

"Indeed it can be used. Daigoro." Yojimbo motioned Daigoro to take a whiff of the jewelry's scent. The dog barked and started smelling the ground. "Let's follow." He then led on following Daigoro who began following the trail of Natsuki's scent.

Nao, finally calm, noticed how Shizuru held on the jewelry like her life depended on it. It was the gift that Natsuki gave to her two years ago. It was a gift that is worth millions of Gil. It was made from the rare item that is called 'Dark matter', carefully molded into a fine jewelry. "You kept it. That trinket." Nao pointed.

Shizuru nodded her head and looked at the jewelry in her hand. "Yes. It's the most precious gift she gave me." She told Nao.

"Pft! Should be. We got that from a Tanket and it's not an easy fiend I tell you." Nao informed Shizuru.

"Tanket*?"

"A fiend under the Helm species. Its small stature is encased with the hardest shell that no piercing ability can easily penetrate. A rough task for a mere human I must say." It was Yojimbo who answered. As they followed Daigoro, Yojiombo kept his senses wide open for any dangers ahead and heard about the conquest of the red-haired woman. "If you have beaten such fiend, I am guessing that jewel is made from Dark Matter." He spoke out.

"You know a lot for a dead guy." Nao eyed the back of the Elemental dangerously.

"Nao please don't taunt the Elemental." Shizuru said flatly. As she follows her Elementals, she felt the pit of her stomach churn. She silently prayed to the Fuukan Deity, Yevon, that Natsuki can be found in one piece.

**-End "Hymn of the Fayth – Yojimbo" -**

* * *

After walking for what they felt like miles, deeper within the forest surrounding the Machina tower, the sun finally set and they found a small campfire which made them stop. Yojimbo looked at his dog who sat on the ground, barking happily. "I see. Thank you dear friend." Yojimbo said, patting Daigoro's head. "The trail ended here. Your friend is near." He informed his summoner and the red-head. "My service is done. Fare thee well." With that, Yojimbo and Daigoro disappeared, leaving a clump of Pyreflies to roam free.

"This place?" asked Nao out loud. She looked around for any signs of her cousin but not even a flash of her midnight colored hair was found. "Natsuki! Baka Natsuki!" Nao shouted.

Shizuru was about to shout for Natsuki's name when a groan halted her attempt.

"Aye! Quit calling for miss ice princess! She's sleeping!" a thick accented female voice shouted back at Nao.

Nao's eyes narrowed and looked up at the huge tree beside her. Seeing a familiar figure at the lowest branch, Nao crossed her arms and growled. "Oerba Yun Fang. What are you doing here?" she asked with a growl.

A woman jumped down from the tree branch yawned and stood before Nao and Shizuru with a drowsed look on her face. Standing at a good 5'9, the woman's appearance is of 21 years old having bronze skin and wavy dark brown hair with a braid behind her left ear. The woman wore blue clothing adorned with tribal accessories. In addition to the blue clothing, the woman called Oerba Yun Fang wears a short black top, black sleeves over her forearm, tan leather open-toed sandals, and two fur pelts hanging from a cord beneath a belt that holds a weapon of some sort. And a ice-like tattoo on her right arm while her left arm was marked with a black tattoo.

But what prominent to her attire is the green colored eyes with spiral irises. A mark of a Garderobe citizen.

"Same goes to you Nao Zhang. Why are you here?" the woman called Oerba Yun Fang asked, eyeing Nao curiously. Then she raised a brow when she saw a beauty beside Nao, a famous beauty. Rubbing her left eye to make sure she still wasn't dreaming, she blinked and grinned widely when her eyes didn't deceive her. "Wow, never thought you would get a hottie like her Zhang. Are you cheating on my sister?" she grinned.

Nao was surprised by the woman's assumption. The looked at Shizuru then herself and began to shiver. Natsuki would kill her if she even tries to flirt with Shizuru and if the woman's sister were to find out that she was flirting so much, her life would be literally be fed to her pet/Elemental. "As if. The mutt will kill me if I even take a lecherous look at her girlfriend. Back to business, where is my cousin?" she said, looking around the somewhat empty campsite.

Oerba Yun Fang scratched the back of her head and yawned. "Too bad. Never knew that summoner was already marked by the ice princess. Anyway, she's over there by the camo-tent. Light is with her." she pointed at the well camouflaged tent with a bit of annoyance in her tone.

Nao showed an impish grin at the woman. "Oh jealous are we? Don't worry; the mutt's owner is here." Nao pointed at Shizuru who was silently watching them with her thumb. She then walked towards the tent that the woman told her.

Finally being spoken for, Shizuru smiled at the unfamiliar woman before her. "Hello. My name is Shizuru Viola." She introduced herself to the beautiful rough looking woman.

Oerba Yun Fang grinned and offered her hand. "Oerba Yun Fang. But please call me Fang." Her hand was shook by the summoner and her grin grew wider. "Ah I should be honored to have my hand shaken by the famous summoner." She told her.

Shizuru immediately felt a familiar energy radiating from Fang's hand. A strong energy. "You are?" she inquired, silently asking Fang on what she was feeling.

"Yeah. But just one though. I'm not like you who can control numerous of them. And we are not finishing the pilgrimage if you are going to ask." Fang informed her with a smirk.

Before Shizuru was about to speak, a loud thud echoed within the small camp site followed by a cry of pain from Nao. Shizuru and Fang turned to where the commotion was and found Nao with a handprint on her cheek.

"I think I should've mentioned that Light was in her sleeping clothes." Fang said while shaking her head weakly.

"The hell Zhang?! I'll tell Vanille of this!" a rough voiced female shouted from the tent.

Nao cradled her now searing red cheek with a scowl on her face. "I didn't know! Fuck! Claire! Don't you give Van some false assumptions again!" Nao retorted.

"False assumptions? Vanille caught you red handed at the agency in Oerba! And don't you dare call me by that name!" the woman inside the tent shouted back.

The sound of rustlings and frustrated groans sounded from the tent and after a few minutes, a pink haired woman emerged from the tent.

Standing by a good 5'7, the woman with pink colored hair wore a white belted shirt with a sleeveless brown zip-up turtle neck underneath, green metallic pauldron over her left shoulder bearing yellow stripes and brown mini-shorts and her legs are adorned by leather high-cut boots. Her blue eyes glared at Nao who was glaring back at her. "The hell! Why are you sneaking inside my tent?" the woman asked in annoyance.

"You didn't have to slap me! Like I would even look at your body!" Nao shouted back.

Fang smirked. "Now now, let's stop with the arguing." Fang said, hoping to stop the argument. She walked towards Lightning and propped up her left elbow atop her head. "Chill Light." she told the pink-haired woman.

The woman called Lightning creased her brows and crossed her elbows. She leaned her back at Fang's body and exhaled loudly. A low grunt was heard that made Fang chuckle a bit. "Easy now sunshine. Zhang and her companion are here to check on the ice princess. You are done with checking on her wounds right?" Fang asks Lightning who nodded.

Nao scoffed and glared at Lightning. "Be thankful it was me who went in the tent. If it was that summoner over there who saw the way you are checking on Natsuki's wounds, you'll be in deep shit." Nao pointed Shizuru who was now walking towards the tent. She can bet that the summoner heard that Natsuki was still in the tent.

Lightning eyed Shizuru and then turned to Nao. "The famous Summoner of Fuuka?" Nao nodded and she looked up to Fang. "Figures. Her wounds are healed. Surprisingly that is. We should bring her to Moonflow to have Vanille check on her."

"Alright." Fang nodded her head and placed a kiss on Lightning's head. "You did good job sunshine. Not sure on what Zhang is referring to your medical treatments but I'll just leave that one behind me." She told Lightning and hugged her close. Lightning blush a bit and tilted her head down to cover her blush.

Nao frowned as she cradled her sore cheek. Spiral irises locked on the camouflaged tent and waited for Shizuru to finish smothering Natsuki with whatever worried bantering she will provide her. Natsuki would need all the mother-hen banter from Shizuru after what they all saw and what Shizuru will see. _'Natsuki… Your stupidity is way beyond my reach'. _Standing up from the dirt-filled ground, Nao dusted her pants and turned to Fang and Lightning. "So, while the mutt's girlfriend is checking on her, where's the metal wolf?"

* * *

Inside the tent, a single luminous lamp gave light within the small space. Filled with blankets and a few cushions, crimson eyes looked around and finally landed on the figure within the blankets. A small gasp escaped Shizuru's sleep seeing the condition of the person she was looking for.

Lying on a comforter surrounded by blankets, the blunette raider slept soundly as if the past events never happened. Her head was bandaged up until her brows and her right cheek was plastered by another bandage. Crimson eyes trailed its sight down and found Natsuki's once was clothed body are now covered with bandages at her chest area and abdomen. This time, Shizuru caught sight at Natsuki's abdomen, the part without a bandage, and saw black writings on them scrutinizing the writings, she read them out loud. "**Vun oui E femm myo so meva, so lnescuh aoat payido.**"(1) Shizuru was taken aback by such words tattooed on Natsuki's abdomen. Suddenly, her eyes began to water and tears slowly fell down from her eyes.

_in my long forgotten cloistered sleep  
you and I were resting close in peace  
was it just a dreaming of my heart?  
now I'm crying, don't know why._

Shizuru began to sing and slowly crept beside Natsuki's body. Her hand glowed into a greenish color and she traced it on Natsuki's head as she continues her song. Shizuru made a walking gesture with her fingers from Natsuki's forehead down to her cheeks.

_where do all the tears come from?  
could no one ever dry up this spring?  
if you find me crying in the dark  
please call my name, from the heart_

_Sing with me a tiny autumn song  
weep me the melodies of the days gone by  
dress my body all in flowers white,  
so no mortal eye can see_

The finger walked down to Natsuki's collar bone and traced it from left to right then down to Natsuki's breastbone area. The pointer finger stopped at the middle of Natsuki's breastbone and the greenish glow spread widely at Natsuki's chest.

_where have all my memories gone?  
should I roam again up yonder hill?  
I can never rest my soul  
until you call my name  
you call my name, from the heart_

_in my long forgotten cloistered sleep,  
someone kissed me, whispering words of love  
is it just a longing of my heart?  
such a moment of such peace_

The fingers moved again and this time it was on Natsuki's bandaged abdomen. Shizuru stopped her fingers from doing its walking gesture and placed her now open palmed hand on top of Natsuki's abdomen. Tears fell down some more when Shizuru felt Natsuki's abdomen having the deep wound.

Crimson eyes looked up to Natsuki's face and found it was now looking more serene than before. A relieved sigh escaped her lips and she moved her body up a bit to have her face near Natsuki's own. With her right hand still placed upon Natsuki's abdomen, Shizuru sang the last lines of her song. As she sang the song, her eyes took in the beautiful look on Natsuki's face. The solemn look, the soft breathing and her inviting lips. Lips that are taunting her, inviting her.

_where do all the tears come from?  
with no memories, why should I cry?  
I can never rest my soul  
until you call my name…you call my name  
you call my name, call my soul, from the heart_

Giving in the last lines of the song, Shizuru couldn't help herself and closed the gap between herself and Natsuki. Her warm lips connected to Natsuki's dry lips, finally claiming them once again as her tears landed on Natsuki's face.

And such, the light form the lantern faded and the tent is now filled by the greenish glow that Shizuru's hand was emitting. While outside, Pyreflies started to gather atop of the tent, roaming around it like performing a circular dance.

* * *

"Shizuru…"

* * *

(1) For you I will lay my life, my crimson eyed beauty.

**Final Fantasy Fiend encyclopedia~ (imagine Bleach's Arrancar Encylopedia theme)  
**

**Tanket**: a special enemy in _Final Fantasy X_, created in the Monster Arena when three of each Helm-species fiends have been captured with the exception of the Swamp Mafdet as that is only encountered when capturing fiends is not possible.

**Helm**: Type of fiend with a hard, thick shell-like body. Their armored bodies provide them with a higher Defense than other fiends.

* * *

**A/N: So how was it? Suspense? Drama? Humor? Were you guys surprised by a familiar cameo in the chapter? I know I do :p ahahaha.** **Shizuru Finally kissed Natsuki! wohooo! Though the latter is sleeping/out of concious, a kiss is still a kiss right? :D**

**Please give me your insight and i'll be happy to read all of them. **


	11. Chapter 11: Claim me

**A/N: So update! so fast I know :) Sadly there are no fight scenes here (just like in the last chapter) but there is a small batch of Frutos candy (if you are from the Philippines you would know this candy) in this update :D Without further wait, Chapter 11 of the forbidden guardian. I apologize for future confusion. I would give a heads-up that the events below are not really chronological order. :)  
**

* * *

**"When reaching for the future, we sometimes fall into the past. As we gaze upon events that can not be changed, our hearts grow bitter with regret. My dear Serah. How will you choose to deal with that pain?" - Lightning FFXIII-2  
**

* * *

**Chapter 11: Claim me.**

She felt like she was floating deep in a fresh water lake; like she was stuck deep underwater and her body in fetal position without the need to breathe. The sound of the moving tide, drifting her body to and fro in place, was enough to lull her to a solemn sleep. It made her body feel relax after the tremendous pain she felt a few hours ago. With her eyes closed and her head tucked between her cradling arms, she felt her body slowly falling asleep.

That is until the sound of lulling waves was replaced by an angelic voice, singing a song she heard years ago, interrupted her slumbering mood. The song being sung was filled with sadness and hope, asking for someone to answer her call. As her ears listened to the song, flashes of memories filled her mind.

* * *

**-Enter Final Fantasy X OST - Someday the Dream Will End-**

"_Mutt! You done?" asked Nao. The redhead was at the other side of the garage and Natsuki caught the view of Nao waving at her through the gap between the body of the wolf-like Machina and its head. Putting down the drill she was holding, Natsuki stood up from her crouching position and checked on what her cousin wanted. It was a rare occasion that Nao disturb her when she was working on their project. A secret project she put up within the Garderobe Factory I facility. "Not really. What do you want spider?" she asks, pulling up her goggles to have a good clear sight of her cousin._

_The redhead grinned and showed Natsuki a pair of old guns. "Look! I found them when Midori took me to Bevelle to fix their Machinas. That place is crawling with weapons and tada! Found these babies." Nao grinned widely as she laid the guns on top of the wolf-like Machina's back._

_Netsuki examined the old guns and picked one of them up. Testing the weight, checking the condition of the metal and even checking the clip for any bullets, she concluded that the gun is in perfect shape for something old. "The metal is a bit rusted but a few good shining and paint job would fix it." Natsuki commented with a smile._

"_Good! Coz starting tomorrow, we'll have our training! I asked one of those Shinra Turks, Two Guns, to teach you how to wield those things too!" Nao informed Natsuki enthusiastically. She took out a knife from her back and showed it to Natsuki as well. "I got a knife too. It looks rusty but the material is Mythril* so the rust can be removed by polishing too."_

_The blunette narrowed her sights at the bladed weapon and looked at Nao's grinning face. "Let me guess, Knife agreed to teach you in handling that huh?" she got a rapid nod from her cousin in confirmation of her assumption. "I see. Well better start modifying these. The magazine clip needs to be replaced if I'm putting element-type bullets in them. And that knife needs some magic slot if you need them to be embedded with your magic."_

_Nao showed Natsuki a thumbs-up and grinned wider. "Genius yet again! Now let's start on being the greatest guardian ever lived!" Nao shouted, laughing loudly in sheer confidence._

"_We are already called the genius engineers, why add guardians too?" she asks coyly._

"_Coz I know dear cousin of mine, you'll never let that guy to beat you in being close with Shizuru."_

_An evil smile replaced the grin on Natsuki's face. The thought of beating the prodigy that is Reito Kanzaki was enough to motivate her in joining Nao in her schemes yet again. Looking back at the guns, Natsuki took both of them on each hand and twirled them using her pointer fingers a few times and stopping them, safely holding the grip and aimed the guns at the sides of Nao's head. "Nice Idea Spider. I like it!"_

* * *

"Ah such motivation." A male voice said with a bit of mirth.

Natsuki's brow twitch upon hearing the intruding voice inside her head but her body was too tired to even move.

"Fight it young one." the voice urged but Natsuki stayed still in her fetal position, taking in the song that's lulling her to sleep.

* * *

"_Alright! All we need is a sample life plate from a fiend that are not Flans*-" Natsuki looked at the grinning Nao with a Flan beside her, readying to turn it into a life plate. She raised a slender brow, indicating that they are not going to use the gel-like fiend again. "and we'll test these babies at the training center."_

_Nao let out a sigh and snapped her fingers, burning the gel monster beside her. "What monster do you have in mind?" she asks._

_Natsuki showed Nao a sketch of their targets. On one sketch, the fiend looked like a giant iron armor wielding a huge sword, the other sketch showed a wolf like fiend with white fur. "These." She pointed with a grin._

_Nao pulled her goggles down to hand on her neck as she examined the sketch. "A Snow wolf* in Lake Macarena-"_

"_Macalania" Natsuki corrected._

_Nao rolled her eyes and went back to checking the sketch. "Macarena, Macalania. Whatever. That fiend and the Iron Giant* in Thunder plains. Doable. We can go to Thunder Plains first then to-"_

"_Macalania. Ma-Ca-La-Nia. Gesh!" Natsuki corrected again. There are indeed some people who have trouble in saying the said place's name._

"_Right! Macalania! We go there, beat the fiends and turn them to plates! Easy." A 100 watt smile was plastered on Nao's face, confident that they can beat such fiend. After being trained by the Shinra Turks (where Two Guns and Knife belongs to), their fighting ability increased to the point no class B or lower type of monsters can best them. _

_The blunette took the sketch and folded it into a tiny square. Tucking it in her back pocket, she took her gunholster that is hanging by her bedside and clipped it around her chest. "Then it's time to hunt!"_

"_They seem compatible with the plates?" Nao spoke out more of a question than a confirmation._

_The two engineers finally obtained the life plates of the two fiends after three weeks. Nao got the Iron Giant plate while Natsuki has the Snow wolf and both placed the plates on their Machinas heads at the same time. Five minutes had passed and the Machinas showed no signs of activity. _

"_Must be incompatible. The Flans' plate are capable of making them atleast move or howl in Duran's case." Natsuki said, reading the data log she has about their Machinas._

_Nao peered at the data log then up to her cousin's frowning face. "Are you sure that lady named Yunalesca is not a wack-job? Sure she's a hottie, taken I might add, but are you sure all these months we put in our sweat and work just because she stated that Elementals came from things called Fayths, is true?" she asks._

"_Positive. I asked Shizuru before on how a summoner can obtain them by praying to the Fayths." Natsuki scrunched up her brows and looked at their immovable Machinas. "They did respond to the Flan plate so why not these ones…" She mused, examining her Machina._

"_Nao-chan! Nat-kun! We have some visitors! Get your butts in my office!" The voice of their head engineer, Midori echoed through the speakers. Both Nao and Natsuki groaned out loud at the announcement._

"_Well let's go and see what Midori wants." Natsuki said, pulling her goggles down to cover her eyes. Nao nodded her head and did the same gesture to cover her eyes. _

_As they exited the warehouse, locking the door in the process, they walked along the steel walkway towards Midori's apartment._

"_I think we really need a Fayth to test it out mutt. The fiend plates we acquired are duds." Nao commented dryly."To think my face almost got a slash mark from avoiding that Iron Giant's sword!" Nao said in horror.  
_

_Natsuki cupped her chin and think of what went wrong with their experiment. She calculated it thoroughly and concluded that any fiend can be used as life plate. But right now, the life plate did nothing. "Maybe." She mumbled. _

_Eyes on the walkway, both women are too occupied with their thoughts and didn't notice the line of Fuukan dressed guards blocking their way. Both bumped into their steel covered backs and yelped in pain._

"_The fuck!" Nao shouted, reached behind her to grab on to the knife hilt. Her hand was stopped by her cousin's hand and the low warning along with it. Nao check on the figure she bumped into and saw the crest of Fuuka._

"_Move…" Natsuki spoke to the Fuukan guard who checked on them after being bumped into._

_The Fuukan guard grunted but didn't move at all. He looked at Natsuki and Nao, taking a few extra seconds at their chests before landing on their goggle-covered eyes. "No. The Grand Meister and commander Crux are in a meeting with the Factory head and they are not to be disturbed." He said smugly._

_Natsuki frowned at the guard. "We are the Garderobe Factory lead engineers. Let us pass or I'll have your assess kicked out of the factory district." _

_But the guard scoffed them off, not believing what Natsuki said and turned around, ignoring them all the way. Such action caused Nao to curse at the guard using Albhed. The guard took offense in Nao's tone, even if he didn't understand her, and shoved her away. This caused Natsuki to tense up and punch the guard._

"_Learn your place in my city." Natsuki said coldly, waling over him with Nao following behind her. The other guards moved and pointed their weapons at the two women, thinking they are trespassing. And in an instance, the two are involved in a brawl with the Fuukan guards._

_It took them fifty guards before they are pushed to the ground, guns and swords pointing at their bodues. Next thing they knew, the Grand meister and his commander of the Crimson squad, are now leering at them._

"_Your guards would not let us through." Natsuki said, countering the leer with her icy glare._

_Crux, a man in his fifties, took out his sword and aimed it at Natsuki's neck. "You attacked the guards of an international envoy. This is punishable by death little girl." He informed the engineer. _

_Natsuki was about to speak when a loud explosion from the warehouse stopped all of their actions. Everyone turned to the now burning warehouse and the figures emerging from the flames. Natsuki and Nao gasped at the figures._

_The Machinas they have placed with new life plates are now moving with gleaming red eyes._

* * *

The memory blurred from her mind. Flashes of scenes are clear to her as she creased her forehead, trying to remember the event. Bodies bleeding screams and howls filled her ears. The next image she saw was Duran biting off Crux left arm that held the sword that was once pointed at her neck and Shizuru's father casting triple magic at her Machinas. The last image was Midori having her head hung low as the two engineers are cuffed tightly.

"I must say, you and your cousin indeed achieved a great invention." Th voice sounded astonished after the flashback of the rampage of the two Machina's showed up. "Your gunslinger tactic and your cousin's knack at magic is a tandem that is rare within your race. You have a great ability in guns which would do nicely with me."

Natsuki stayed quiet, eyes still closed as the voice in her head kept talking. The song kept on going through her ears and it was loud enough to even rival the voice in her head. But again, it was not loud enough to wake her body up from it's lazy slumber.

-**End Music-**

* * *

"_Are you sure mutt?" Asked Nao._

_Emerald green eyes took a final glance at her beloved city before she turned her back at it and swung her bag at her back. "Yes. It's time we take our project to the next level. Let's go and hunt some Fayths."_

_Nao Nodded and mounted her unnamed Machina. "What about your girlfriend?" she inquired, adjusting the Machina's plate._

"_It's better if she would not know. I know her father would not tell her either."_

"_That old man would never admit that we have created a solution to break their bloodied traditions." Nao grinned smugly._

_Mounting her own Machina, Duran, Natsuki nodded her head and placed the plate of Duran's head. "Yes." she answered. Her eyes set on the road ahead of them and she motioned for Duran to move. "One day. One day we'll break the rules and free those who are bound to such cursed fate."_

_-**End Music-**_

* * *

"You are outstanding. Your memories are filled with things normal humans can never have in a short span of life." A voice called out from Natsuki's consciousness yet again. She shrugged a bit from her fetal position and tried to open her eyes, but the pitch darkness surrounding her made her close her eyes again. "Your lover knows the song of Curaga. She is singing it in a tone perfect for a white mage*" The voice spoke out again with a hint of awe in its tone as the song was being sung from outside Natsuki's consciousness.

"Go away. You're noisy." Natsuki spoke out, hoping to shut the voice up.

"If I stay silent you'll be going back to sleep. That's no good." The voice said in a tone of disapproval.

Natsuki shook her head in hope of removing the voice. She felt her whole body weight slowly getting lighter as the song she hears dissipates from her hearing. Her heart clenched at how the song was slowly dying down from her hearing. "I want to sleep."

"Listen. Listen to her song. Wake up young one!" The voice said once more, urging Natsuki to keep awake.

"Go away!"

"Would you face your end without doing anything? Did you not make a pact with me so that you can protect your lover and your family?" The voice asked, his tone rather demanding.

This made Natsuki's body flinch. Memories of her fight with Th'uban filled her mind and the crying faces of her cousin and Shizuru made her heart beat harder. "No… I need…"

"Power. Strength. Life." The voice continued. "I can provide it to you for a price."

Natsuki opened her eyes, expecting the pitch black area again, but was now in front of a figure in a combatant appearance. His face showed a gentle expression as his arms are crossed to his chest.

"Took you a while master. She is calling you." The man said with a small smile. "For now, you need to save your strength. A path of sorrow and suffering awaits, but here I am to help you."

A hand was placed on her shoulder and slowly pulled her upward. Before Natsuki could ever answer or ask anything to the figure, the soft warm feeling that was placed on her lips pulled her out of the submerged state.

As her body was being pulled out of the deep darkness, a sliver of memory entered her mind. A memory that related to the song her ears have been hearing.

* * *

**-Enter Yeul's Theme - Final Fantasy XIII-II-**

_Blunette cried in pain as half of her face, the left, smelled of burnt flesh and felt like it fire was continuously licking at it. Her hands were tied down as she kept on struggling from the white bed in hopes to run at the nearest water source to ease her pain. The shouts of people surrounding her kept her mind in a rioting confusion and urged her to get away from the crowd. The burning pain continued to consume her prompting her to struggle harder and break through the restrains._

"_It's no use! Nao! Cast some gravity orbs at your cousin's hand! We can't heal her like this!" a shout rang into her ears but she continued to ignore it and tried to pry away from the people pushing her down. _

"_Move! It hurts!" she cried in pain._

"_Nao! Do something! That burn looks like hell!" the older voice shouted once again._

"_Done binding her! But I can't heal these wounds! They're far too severe for my knowledge!" the other voice shouted with a tone of fear and apprehension. "_

_She tried to open her right eye to see her surroundings but the shadows of the people surrounding her blocked her vision. Trying to open her left eye, even just a twitch, caused her to moan in pain. Her now gravity encased wrists held her down to the bed as she desperately clung on the sheets tightly to contain the searing pain she was feeling. But it was not enough. "It burns!" _

_When she felt that she can no longer stand the pain and was about to succumb to the pain, the fire-like feeling on her left face was replaced by a cool water feeling. Her breath, ragged and fast paced, slowed a bit as her right eye drowsily looked at her left. _

_A blurred figure was at her left which she had to crane her head a bit to the side to have a full view. The figure was looking at her, no distinct features familiar to her. She closed her eyes for a bit and opened them again, this time focusing her vision to clear up the blurred image. _

"_Shizuru…" she whispered, recognizing the crimson irises that are now filled with tears. As the woman wept for her, she saw her lips kept moving as if she was talking to her. With the pain subsiding, she gathered up her strength and let her left hand move to break the bind magic and touches the cool feeling on her face. The soft hand of Shizuru._

_She heard her singing. Singing a familiar song. _

_Adjusting her hearing, blocking out the shouts and cries of worry, she recognized the song that Shizuru was singing to her. _

"_Y__ou call my name, call my soul, from the heart"_

"_The song of intense healing… Curaga*…" Natsuki said, putting a title on the action of the song. As the title said, the burning feeling finally subsided and the feeling of fresh coolness filled her left face. Shakily moving her left eye, she saw the glow on the hand on her left face and she took the said hand away from her face. _

"_Natsuki!" Shizuru shrieked in relief, engulfing the blunette in a tight hug._

_A weak smile etched on Natsuki's face as she pushes herself up into an Indian sitting position. "Hey."_

"_Baka! Stupid Natsuki!"_

_Natsuki could see the relieved look on the people around her, including her cousin and their mentor, Midori. She showed them a crooked smile, implying she was now fine. _

_Shizuru pushed herself away from the blunette and buried her head on Natsuki's chest. Tears flowed from her eyes, making the burnt clothes of Natsuki wet. "What happened? Why were you like that? You scared me to death!"_

_Natsuki touched her face to make sure no scars were left. "My Machina blew up on my face. Unfortunately, I smudged my face with oil before that, making the fire stick to my face like glue." She placed her free hand over Shizuru's head and gently stroked it. "I'm fine. Thank you Shizuru." Her emerald eyes looked at another set of green orbs who nodded her head._

"_Natsuki's fine! Let's go back to work!" Nao ushered her co-workers away from the infirmary, leaving the two alone. "I'll pick you up later tonight." She told her before leaving the infirmary herself and releasing Natsuki's right wrist from its bind._

_Finally alone, Natsuki leaned her head atop of Shizuru's and she slowly hums the song Shizuru sang to her. The teen before her shifted and looked up to her face. A small smile is etched on her lips as she continues to hum the song._

_Crimson eyes filled with tears just stared at the spiral irises of the blunette. Emerald orbs found such weakened state of the crimson eyed beauty before her as entrancing and she was lost in those alluring wine-like pools. Without hesitating and the thought that nobody was around, Natsuki dipped her head a bit to catch the lips of the woman that is now trapped in her arms._

_Natsuki felt the woman tensed in her arms for a second before melting and giving in to her kiss. Her initiated kiss was now being reciprocated by the summoner-in-training passionately. Both felt the need to consume their lips like their life depended on it._

_Then Shizuru stopped kissing Natsuki and moved from her sideways sitting at the bed to fully mounting the comfy cushion. With such movement, Shizuru pushed Natsuki back down on the white sheets with little force as the blunette followed-suit with the said movement. As the blunette lay down on the infirmary bed, her body was again restrained by Shizuru, straddling her waist in place._

"_You make me worry so much. You kept on making me cry with your foolish accidents." Shizuru spoke to her in a trance-like state. Crimson eyes are clouded with the feeling of lust to claim the sweet lips of the blunette. Such sight gave Natsuki shivers down to her spine._

"_I always want your attention. Even if I need to connect the wrong wires on a Machina to have it blow up to my face just to have you rushing in to me to tend my wounds…" Natsuki reached up to touch Shizuru's left cheek. "I know that you would always be there to patch me back up again. Just a small price to have you in my arms."_

_Her ears heard a growl from the brunette and the drunken look on Shizuru's eyes was now replaced by fury. She merely smirked, knowing that Shizuru would need what they would engage in next more than she does. _

_The next thing she knew was Shizuru forcibly kissing her lips, raw emotions filling up her chest and she let her instincts take over. An intense exchange of dominance over the fiery kiss took place as Shizuru forciblyrestrained Natsuki's wandering hands away from places that needed to be clothed for the meantime. The blunette's arms were once again pinned atop of her head and this time, it was the hands of her beautiful summoner-in-training. A pained hiss escaped her lips as Shizuru bit on the bottom lip, drawing a bit of blood from it._

"_You threw yourself into the fire to just be extinguished by me? Such a bad puppy." Shizuru said in a seductive tone. Hearing such seductive voice of the Fuukan summoner-in-training, Natsuki couldn't help but lick the blood away and smirk at her. The gestures made Shizuru moan softly and crushed her lips to Natsuki's._

_Finally realizing the need of oxygen, both women stopped their fiery kiss and Natsuki took advantage of this by resisting the hold on her wrist and roughly pushing Shizuru up, both of them sitting on the bed. With Shizuru's legs wrapped around Natsuki's waist and the blunette's arms wrapped around Shizuru's waist, the taller brunette's neck was now near Natsuki's lips. The blunette took advantage of this and worked her lips on the exposed skin and began to shower it with butterfly kisses to rough territorial claims. She kissed her from the collar bone up to the base of neck and up to the crook of her jaw; such action was rewarded by the alluring moans from the brunette. She continued this gesture up to the side of Shizuru's face until her kisses reached the base of Shizuru's ear. _

"_Maybe? But you are a naughty owner who knows not to rest when needed and distance yourself from those men who eyed you lecherously." Natsuki growled at Shizuru's ear. This made Shizuru shiver in pleasure. Natsuki knew Shizuru loved her jealous growls. _

"_Really now? Father did say they can be my suitors in due time. And I do know you are one of those people who eyes me in such way." Shizuru said flatly. This made Natsuki growl louder into her ear._

_Natsuki bit on the tip of Shizuru's earlobe hard that made the brunette yelp in pain. Natsuki just smirked at her action and kissed the reddening earlobe. "Can is different than would. And even if it turns to 'would', I'll gladly kidnap you and forever be claimed as my own." She told Shizuru with another growl. "And for the record, I have all my rights to watch you in any way I want."_

_Shizuru showed Natsuki a seductive smirk as she placed her right pointer finger on Natsuki's chin, guiding the growling woman to face her. Crimson eyes clouded with lust and bodies emitting radiating heat, Shizuru spoke out the words both of them favored at such lustful passionate times._

"_Then claim me Natsuki Kruger. Claim me and make me call out your name in bliss as I will make you call my name as well."_

**-End Music-**

* * *

Emerald eyes slowly opened and was welcomed by the glazed crimson orbs of the woman that made her life complete. The tear-filled eyes of the woman she held dear inside her heart, to the point of leaving her behind without communication just to find a way to save her from the dreaded fate of a summoner. The life of the soldiers of Fuuka

"Shizuru..."

* * *

**Each reunion is a twist of the knife. The joy is ephemeral; it leaves fear in its wake. A fear that all too soon the time will come when you must bid farewell again. Yet you cannot help but long for the next encounter. Humanity's great frailty...We prefer past happiness to future uncertainty.**

**-Lightning FFXII-2-**

* * *

**Final Fantasy Encyclopedia:**

**Snow wolf: **Wolf-like fiend that inhabits the frozen regions of Lake Macalania.

**Iron Giant**: Although the name may change slightly from game to game, the physical appearance of iron giants usually remains roughly the same. They are tall metal monsters, often wielding large swords, that rely solely on physical attacks.

**Mythril**: a strong, easily processed metal. Highly responsive to magic, it forms the basis of magical armaments. —Bookshelf at Mysidia, Final Fantasy II

**White Mage: **Mages that specialize in white magic which usually healing magics, field spells, support magic, effect magic and the famous attack magic Holy.

**Curaga: **The strongest curative spell.


	12. Chapter 12: Elementals, Machinas, Eidoli

**A/N: Whaaaazzaaaap! Zaki is here and finally out of the RWBY addiction! If you guys are not aware of RWBY, you should watch it in youtube! I just love Ruby and Blake Belladonna :) not yet sure with Weiss Schnee since I feel that there was missing something there. Oh I'm making/editing a picture of RWBY themed Forbidden Guardian, so stay tune for it :) Hahaha for now, here's the update of Forbidden Guardian.**

* * *

**"Lightning. It flashes bright, then... fades away. It can't protect. It** **only destroys." –Lightning, FFXIII**

* * *

**Chapter 12: Elementals, Machinas, Eidolith**

Natsuki stirred out of her comatose state and blinked a few times to get used to the faint light of her surroundings. She tried to remember the last things that happened before her consciousness blacked out. Her hand unconsciously moved to her stomach and she felt the damage she got from fighting the legendary fiend.

With her body facing at the canvas-like shelter, she looked beside her only to find the tear-filled eyes of the high summoner. Crimson eyes watched her with a look mixed with sadness and relief. Her lips tugged a bit upward, making an awkward pained smile. "Hey…" she greeted in a rasped tone. She wondered how long was she unconscious that made her tongue feel like cotton. Biting on the said sensory muscle, she tried to move her body but only ended up feeling pain surging through her body.

The sudden pained expression of the blunette made Shizuru snap out of her surprised state and aid Natsuki by supporting her body back to the makeshift bed. "Don't move so much. Even if your wounds have healed, your body is still recuperating from the pain and damaged it received." Shizuru explained, wiping away the sweat that formed on Natsuki's forehead.

"How long was I out?" Natsuki asked. Her hand rubbed on the spot she was hit by the fiend's horn and she can feel the stitches on her stomach and winched whenever her hand comes close to it. Her hand way pulled away from the closed wound and she stared back to the worried look of the crimson-eyed woman before her. "Shizuru…"

"Stop… Let it be for now." Shizuru whispered. She pulled Natsuki's hand up to her cheek and savoured the warmness that Natsuki's hand was emitting. "You have been sleeping for a few hours. You scared us to death. I thought-" her words was cut off by her sobs as the tears suddenly flowed again. "I'm glad you're okay Natsuki. Please don't scare me like that ever again!"

Emerald eyes watched how Shizuru caressed her hand against her cheek. Her heart fell upon seeing the tears flowing from Shizuru's eyes and she used her free hand to wipe them away. "I see. As much as it is breathtaking to see you cry; I assure you I'm fine. So please don't cry anymore?" her voice was soft and she moved her hand along Shizuru's cheeks in wiping away the tears that stained it.

"Natsuki!" SHizuru moved her body down to the level of Natsuki and engulfed the raider in a fierce hug. "Baka! Baka!" A simple smile etched on Natsuki's face. The hand that was once held by Shizuru now stroked the back of the brunette gently to comfort her. "Baka Natsuki! You could've been killed by that fiend!" Shizuru looked up at the face of her childhood friend, tears still falling from her eyes.

"I'm alive."

"You could've lost a limb or two!"

"Still have my arms and legs."

"I almost lost you! You don't know how painful it was to see you be mauled by that fiend!" Shizuru then began to pound her balled right fist softly on Natsuki's shoulder. The pain that she felt from seeing Natsuki fight at Th'uban, seeing her impaled by the fiend's horns and falling from the 90 floor tower. All of it overflowed within her and all she can do was cry and shout at Natsuki.

The blunette watched Shizuru and braced her shoulder whenever she felt the soft impact of Shizuru's fist on her shoulder. It had been years since Shizuru last saw her in such a state and whenever she does find her all wounded there was only one thing to prove to her that she was fine.

A sigh escaped Natsuki's lips. Her mind knows that she needs all the will power she has if she wanted Shizuru to calm down. Placing both her hands on the summoner's shoulders, she gently pushed Shizuru up so that they can be on the same eye level. "Shizuru I'm fine. See I'm breathing and talking to you." She explained, showing a forced smile on her face.

All Shizuru can do was push herself again and engulfed Natsuki in a tight hug. "You're always making sure I don't worry about you. But you still keep on risking your life." She told Natsuki. It pained her to see how Natsuki kept on being hurt and she blames herself for not being there for her. "You're an idiot… Making me worry so much. If not for that person called Lightning, you would've been bleeding to death!"

Natsuki chuckled a bit for hearing Shizuru calling her an idiot. With no one near them she encircled her arms around Shizuru's body, a smile etched on her face. "Sorry." She went silent for a minute, savoring the closeness she has with Shizuru, until she realized something that Shizuru said.

"Did you say Lightning tended to my wounds?" she asked expression full of shock.

* * *

At a clearing a few meters away from the campsite, Nao examined the condition of Natsuki's Machina. She was surprised to see it looking almost the same, minus the scratches and a few dents in the barrels, but aside from those the mechanical wolf seemed fine. "How the hell did this happen?" she questioned at no one, checking on the Machina's body.

"Actually Zhang, that got me confused as well. If what you said was true, the ice princess falling off a 90floor tower, then that machine should be battered." Fang pointed out. She was sitting by the boulder near the Machina and watched how Nao was checking on it. She was a huntress from the city of Oerba and one of the engineers in machines. Her knowledge was one of the top but it was nothing compared to Natsuki or Nao, but it was enough to know that Machinas are prone to damage upon impacts. "Did Natsuki found a life plate for that machine?" she asked, watching the Machina with caution.

The red-head shook her head. "No. We haven't found a compatible Fayth. Last time we tried the Fayth in Oerba, Duran here almost blew up the factory there." Nao explained.

"Ha! I remember that! Too bad Bahamut chose me." Fang grinned. Oerba has a Fayth called Bahamut in which she was chosen as its master. She had to thank the famous raiders, Natsuki and Nao, for giving her the idea on how to handle the beast that is Bahamut.

"Yeah, yeah. Be thankful you're crafty enough to make a way to escape the risk of being summoners. Natsuki would hate it if Claire here were to be eaten by her horse." Nao snickered but was hit at the head by the pink-haired woman along with the 'Don't call me Claire' speech. Nao merely scoffed it off and proceed in checking the Machina. When Nao saw no damage on the metal wolf's body, she turned to the wolf's head to check on its plate. Slender brows creased when her hand hovered on the plate on top of Duran's head. "The fuck? The plate-" Nao tried to touch the plate, to remove it and examine it, but Duran moved its head and evaded Nao's touch.

Lightning raised a curious brow when she saw the metallic wolf moved. Being one of the raiders in Rin's agency and a former military soldier of her home town, New Bodhum, Lightning was well trained in sensing danger. To add it up, she was well-versed in Machina behavior seeing that Fang is one of the top engineers in Oerba which she was stationed before. Being able to tell a Machina's movement, Lightning tackled Nao away from the metal wolf and both ended up landing on the ground. "What was that for Lightning?!" she heard Nao shouted as she pinned Nao on the ground. Her eyes glared at the Machina who was now on all fours, eyes gleaming dangerously. "Fang!"

**-Enter Final Fantasy XIII – Eidolons music-**

Fang had to curse out loud. Of all the times she forgot her weapon, a now dangerous-looking Machina is threatening them. She jumped off the boulder and stood before the Machina and Lightning. "On it!" She told Lightning, making a fighting pose with her fists balled up and a smirk on her face. "Been a while since I've wrestled a Machina before."

Nao noticed the change in Duran's stance and her emerald eyes widen in shock. It was the same as when Duran was tried to have Bahamut as a life plate. "For the love of-"

"-Etro!" Lightning continued as she grabbed on Nao's body and hooked her left arm on Fang's slender waist. She pulled the two outside of the lunge range of the metal wolf who was now standing on the spot Nao was. "Zhang! What the hell is happening?"

Nao pried herself away from Lightning and immediately stood up. She reached behind her and took the knife that was sheathed at the scabbard belted on her back. "I'm not sure! Duran has a life plate of a Fayth!" She shouted. The plate on Duran's head has a greenish glow. The plate of a Fayth. _'Cousin what the hell did you do?!'_

"Of all the time leaving our weapons behind." Lightning muttered, evading another lunge from Duran. The evasion made her skid right beside Fang who has a smile on her face. "You are enjoying this aren't you?" She asks coldly.

Dark-haired huntress flashed a wide smile at the pinkette. "Yup!" she then scooped up Lightning in her arms that made the other woman squeak in surprise as she jumped away from the spot. "Better have you bruise less else Serah would have my neck." A sly grin. She knows that Lightning secretly love her grins to which she uses at every moment she gets.

Lightning rolled her eyes. Sure she love the smirks that Fang shows to her but knowing the timing, flirting would have to wait. A punch was given to the darkhaired woman and she jumped off her arms. "Fight first, flirting later." She spoke out, eyeing Duran who was somewhat growling at Nao.

Nao has her knife pointed at the direction of Duran. The metal wolf was crouched in another lunging position as it was a few meters away from Nao. Nao can't believe it. Duran moving on its own means the life plate came from a strong fiend or a Fayth. Already having a Fayth plate, Nao can bet the one on Duran's head was a plate of a Fayth. Now the question is where Natsuki did have it. "Duran, down boy. It's me, Nao." Nao said, trying to hope for a bloodless, her blood, fight.

Metal claws clawed on the ground and its body tensed a bit. Its left foreleg clawed the ground forcibly and a metallic growl sounded from its jaw. In its eyes, the enemy was Nao and that entire enemy deserved was instant kill. With a final growl, the hind legs pushed back and launched the body forward, jaws wide open to bite on the human before it.

"Fang!" Lightning shouted, grabbing on Fang's arm.

"On it!" Knowing what to do, Fang held on the arm that clasped on hers and she twirled a few times and released her hold on Lightning's arm when she was in the right range. "Fly!" she stumbled back a bit as she launched Lightning towards Duran. Lightning flung towards the direction of Duran's hasty movement. With her legs together, Lightning was ricocheting towards Duran.

Nao was braced for the oncoming lunge from Duran but nothing came to her. She peered at the direction of the metal wolf and found that it was not there and that Lightning was now kneeling down at it. Emerald eyes darted towards the downed Machina. "Duran must have a non-compatible plate." She stated, standing up and putting up another guard position.

"Tell me about it. Only this time, we don't have chains weighing a thousand tons or even our Eidolons!" Fang said, helping Lightning up to her feet.

"Of all the times! Ready!" Nao held her knife in front of her and have her open palm behind the knife. The knife slowly turned yellowish-red, heating up at the place where Nao's palm was facing and it suddenly ignited of a red flame. "Fire dagger." She mumbled. Her eyes looked at the Machina who was shaking its head away of the branches from the bush it landed at. "I can't believe I'm removing the deadweights." She complained and unlatched the straps on the arm guards, making it fall to the ground with a loud thud.

"See you've been keeping those heavy guards on your body." Lightning commented, noticing the armguards on the ground. "You cousins enjoy hanging out with SOLDIER I see."

Nao grinned a bit. "Well you know them. The mutt enjoys her shooting competition with one of them. But we all know we enjoy everyone's company."

"We all do. So let's get back to business ladies?" Fang showed an excited grin and pointed at Duran.

The wolf growled and faced the three women. A threatening metallic growl emitted from its jaw and its claws once again roughly clawed the ground. Duran positioned itself to have its barrels setup and aimed at the women.

"Shit! It's going to fire!" Nao shouted. She lunged forward to the Machina and slashed its chin upward. The impact made Duran's head to be pushed up and made the aimed shot miss fire a few feet away from Lightning who was pulled by Fang away from the fired shell.

Green eyes saw the magma-ed crater from the shot that Duran fired. "Dang! What did Krueger feeding her pet?!" Fang was astonished at the power that Duran held. She looked back at the Machina and was immediately surprised that it stopped attacking them. Instead of looking at them, Duran has its head held up and its ears twitching a bit. The action reminded Fang of a dog trying to hear something. "Zhang… What's the Machina doing?"

"I don't know. Duran?" Nao called the metal wolf's name but it didn't move. After a minute of watching the metallic wolf, it suddenly howled and turned around to run to the forest. "DURAN! Come back here!" she shouted.

"Zhang! That machine is heading back to camp!" Lightning pointed out. She was now ahead of the two women, rushing towards the campsite where Natsuki was.

Hearing what Lightning pointed out, the two raiders looked at each other and mentally understood that Lightning was going to check on Natsuki. Both of them knew that the pinkette treats the blunette as a special person. With their silent understanding, they both followed the metallic wolf back to camp, hoping that Natsuki would be safe. Or in Fang's case, their items.

**-End music-**

* * *

Back at camp, a few minutes ago, Shizuru was eyeing Natsuki dangerously as the blunette was frozen in place upon hearing that she was treated by Lightning. At first she didn't mind that the treatment was done by another person, knowing Natsuki's condition was indeed severe. But the fact that the woman was now looking at someone was going to kill her that is more powerful than the Th'uban made her feel like there was something more to the woman named Lightning.

"Nat-Su-Ki… Mind telling me why you looked like you are facing a fiend far scarier than the Th'uban?" she asked with a poison filled tone. She watched as Natsuki snapped out of her frozen state and turned to her with a worried look.

"Look, Claire is- how should I put this- Claire is the only woman who can spar equally with me. So whenever I get hurt real bad and it's not her who did it, she'll make sure to deal ten times worse after I get better." Natsuki explained. her eyes looked at the side of the tent and saw two folded weapons and 2 crystals neatly placed atop of folded clothes. "Great. Even Yun is with her." she face-palmed herself and scuffled away from the sheets covering her lower half.

Shizuru blushed. Of all the years she had perfected her façade, seeing Natsuki's body was enough to break her mask. The raider's upper body was covered with the bandages and her lower half was dressed in her black pants. She watched how Natsuki limp a bit as she walked towards the folded weapons. "I hope she's not one of Natsuki's fans. Fufufu."

"Nah! She's more of a rival." She informed Shizuru. Her hand picked up the folded metallic weapon and looked at the pink crystal rose beside it. "Strange that she left her gunblade here and her Eidolith. Same with Yun's spear and her Eidolith as well." She mumbles. As Natsuki checked on the weapons and crystals, a sudden shot of pain made her hunch down and her hand clutching on her abdomen where the pain was. The pain was enough to have beads of sweat form on her forehead.

'_Enemy. Call me now!'_ a mental voce shouted in Natsuki's mind. The pain was surginig upward to her chest that caused her breathing to be ragged. _'Call me now master!'_

"Natsuki!" Shizuru quickly moved towards the blunette but she was stopped by a stopping gesture that Natsuki motioned with her hand.

"I'm fine! We're in danger." Natsuki pointed out. She looked around for her weapons but found no guns or her sword anywhere. With an ominous aura slowly getting closer to the tent, Natsuki took the only weapon she can use.

Blazefire saber. Lightning's gunblade.

"Stay here!" Natsuki ordered to Shizuru. All she can do was push her body to roll out of the tent as she stopped, crouched down with the gunblade in gunform pointing at the huge black fiend.

**-Enter Final Fantasy VI Soundtrack: Battle Theme-**

A huge black gel-like fiend bounced at the campsite, looking for any means of food. It's features resembles the small gel fiend called Flans but this towered Natsuki for a few feet. Its huge fanged jaws opens and closes along it's body bounce as it stopped a few feet away from Natsuki.

"Shit… Of all the fiends. Let's just hope Claire didn't forget to-" She pulled the trigger but a hollow clicking sound which indicated that it was not loaded with bullets. "She did forget too load them." She rolled to her left when the giant fiend conjured a tentacle from its gel-like body and whipped it at the spot where Natsuki was.

The flan whipped two tentacles at Natsuki's way and the blunette could not find any place to dodge it. With nowhere to dodge the tentacles, Natsuki unlatched the safety lock of the gunblade, transforming it into sword form used it as shield from the Flan's attack. A loud howl of pain emitted from the fiend and Natsuki took this chance to roll back and cast Blizzaga at the fiend. But the said magic was no use. The dark Flan only opened its mouth and sucked the ice magic like air. With the ice magic failing, Natsuki threw several magic at the Flan but all have been eaten by the fiend.

"Oh for the love of the higher up! This fiend eats elemental magic! Guess I have to do it the old-erg!" Natsuki staged at the pain she felt on her abdomen. Shaking the pain feeling away, she ran towards the Flan and slashed the side of the fiend a few times. But the slash marks on the fiend merely regenerated like it was nothing.

"I need Nao or Duran." She whispered. _'And I need to protect Shizuru'_ Again the fiend bounced a few feet near Natsuki but instead of using another tentacle attack, the fiend's body swayed a bit and bits of Pyreflies flew away from its body. "Oh no…" Natsuki groaned and immediately slide away from the firing range of the oncoming attack. A Thundaga spell. Natsuki barely evaded it, the sparks of the spell burned her bandaged covered sides. The bandage was loosen and sagged down to Natsuki's hip and Natsuki pulled it back up and tied it tightly. She moaned in pain when the bandage came contact with her stitched abdomen. "You are such a whimp Kruger. This is just a bee sting!" An ironic laugh escaped her lips and she faced the fiend.

'_Eyes on the prize kid! Your lover is in danger!'_ The voice once again shouted in Natsuki's head. She turned around and found Shizuru outside the tent, eyes closed and lips moving. Natsuki can assume she was summoning. _'Another Elemental she call_ _out, she would get a whiplash! Move now!'_ Natsuki didn't question the mental voice and immediately tackled Shizuru to stop her chanting.

Shizuru shrieked in surprise at Natsuki's action and looked at the sweating Natsuki who tackled her and was able to position them in a protective position. Natsuki had her arm securely wrapped at her waist and leaned her body at Natsuki's right bended knee. "What are you doing? We need to stop that fiend." She told Natsuki.

Slender brows furrowed and glared at the summoner. "Are you stupid?! How many Elementals did you summon since yesterday?! Judging from how you look, you didn't some rest!" she clicked her tongue and looked up at the huge fiend. "That's a rank S fiend, a Jumbo Flan. Darn it! If my weapons are here, we can beat-argh!" Natsuki's abdomen stung painfully, indicating that her wound was stretched along the stitches.

'_Call my name!'_

The fiend whipped its tentacle again at Shizuru and Natsuki. All the raider could do was picking Shizuru up in her arms and jumped away from the fiend's range.

'_Call my name kid!'_

"I don't even know your name!" Natsuki shouted in annoyance. The voice in her head is giving her a headache. She looked at the woman in her arms who was looking at her with a raised brow. "Nothing."

'_C'min kid I know you know my name.'_ Natsuki can feel that the voice was grinning at her with a cocky look. She opened her lips and was about to tell the voice that she doesn't know what its name when a mental image of a man dressed in white attire flashed. The man has a grin on his face and a gun in his right hand, barrel being tapped at its temple. There Natsuki knew who she needs to call.

"DURAN!"

As soon as the name was spoken, a loud howl sounded from the forest and a flock of birds flew away from their perches. In a small linear pattern, the birds flew away like there was something going through a forward lined path. The Flan called Jumbo Flan let out a wet roar and swayed again, casting another magic spell at the two women. The casting was stopped by a highspeed chrome shell that exploded at the fiend's mouth.

But thhe force was not enough. The Jumbo Flan, being immune to physical and magical attacks, Natsuki can only hope for someone to assist them.

"Mutt!" Nao's voice echoed from the forest.

"Kruger!" the thick accented voice from Fang came from the forest aswell.

Hearing Nao and Fang's voice, Natsuki put Shizuru down to the ground and made a mad dash towards the tent. With the speed that exceeded a haste magic, Natsuki came out of the tent in an instant. A grin etched on her face as she faced the fiend. "Time to die then Jumbo Flan." Natsuki threw the gunblade to the direction where she heard Nao and Fang's voice. Her ears heard a grunt and this was the only confirmation she need. "Shizuru let me show you something Fuuka summoners can never have due to your rules." She smirked smugly and showed Shizuru the pink crystal rose. "LIGHTNING!" upon calling the name of the raider, Natsuki threw the crystal in the air.

Crimson colored eyes watched at how Natsuki threw the crystal. She can't understand what Natsuki mean with summoners of Fuuka can never have. With her eyes on the crystal rose, she was astonished at the next thing that appeared.

With the speed as fast as a lightning strike, the crystal rose shattered when a pink shadow passed it. The rose emitted a pink petal glyph and a figure emerges from the said glyph. A humanoid Elemental landed on the ground and looked up with its left hand raised like it was waiting for something. As if the Elemental smirked ah a hand grabbed hold on its hand and it twirled the one who held its hand a bit and threw her up in the air. The pink-haired summoner did a few aerial rolls before landing on the ground before the Elemental and unfolding its weapon along with the summon.

"I present to you, the summoner of New Bodhum, Claire 'Lightning' Farron. Summoner of Odin." Natsuki introduced with a wide smile. She was now slumped on the ground and her hand atop of her now bleeding abdomen.

For the first time in Shizuru's summoning life, never did she saw an Elemental being called upon by the way the pink-haired woman called it. It was as like the woman didn't pray to the Fayths to seek their aid. With a simple breaking of a crystal flower, an Elemental emerged. "How did-"

"An invention that the Machina crazed women created. The greatest invention that the world haven't seen before." A male voice interrupted Shizuru's words.

Everyone looked behind the now writhing fiend and found a man with dark colored clothes, carrying a huge case at his back. He has a look that shows of fatigue and his hands are now red from either casting a high end spell or from carrying the case behind him.

"Reito!"

"Mi'lady Shizuru. That woman, former sergeant Lightning Farron of the Guardian Corps of Eden city." The dark-haired guardian told his confused looking ward.

"Aye! Fight now, introductions later pretty boy!" Fang reminded everyone. "Zhang! Take your cousin back a bit, Lightning will take care of this!" Fang commanded which the red haired raider nodded her head and aided her cousin. The trademark smirk of Fang graced her lips and her hand now carried her unfolded double bladed spear. "Time to shine then."

With the Elemental Odin, Duran the Machina, Fang the huntress and Reito's magic, dealing with the Jumbo Flan was like killing a roach that came out from under the floor boards. The Machina fired Chrome shells from the fiend that froze its body in place and Reito casted Ultima at it to cut its life down in half.

Lightning commanded Odin to turn into a horse and she rode it with ease With the sword of Odin in her hands, she jumped off the back of the horse and twirled high in the air, emitting numbers of wind blades from the blade that Odin lent to Lightning. As the air blades cut the fiend, numbers of rose petals appeared from each strike.

Fang loved how Lighting performed Zantetsuken with Odin. With the fiend now at the peak of it's life, she smirked and prepared her final attack. "No escape!" She held on her spear tightly and jumped up in the air, making sure she was a few feet away from the fiend. With the calculated aim, she darted her spear to the enemy, striking it through its body and exploded as the tip of the spear reached the ground.

With the final strike from Fang, the fiend finally swayed down to the ground like a deflated balloon. Lightning dismissed her Elemental and Fang ran towards her and engulfed her in a happy bear hug. The action ended up with Lightning punching Fang away from her. Reito smiled at the two women and dusted off the splattered gel his clothes received when he explosion occurred. Duran on the other hand howled and slumped down as steam slowly escaped its body and its eyes slowly turned grey.

**-Music replaced Final Fantasy VI Victory Fanfare-**

Both Natsuki and Nao laughed at the antics of the two raiders. Natsuki's laughter was stopped when she met the glare from Lightning that can level her own, but this time she shivered in fear knowing she did something stupid yet again. While Shizuru has her sights on the woman called Claire 'Lightning' Farron.

'_A summoner who didn't need to sing to the fayths or chant the song.'_

* * *

**"When prayers turn to promises, not even fate can stand in their way." - Fang Final Fantasy XIII**

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys! so how was it? Intense? or boring? I wanna hear your thoughts! Just to remind you guys, whatever happens from here on out, this is SHIZNAT! you know I never fail my co-Shiznat fans. :) So for now i'm off writing the other chapters of my story and have the music 'Red Like Roses' in repeat, see ya in the other updates! :)**


	13. Chapter 13: The Price to Pay

**a/n: hello hellow! Am here and presenting an update for Forbidden Guardian. So just a minor heads-up, this is mostly an information chapter so no battle sequence, just conversations and stuff. Minor OOC with some cameo characters here and you'll get to meet some of the Raiders in Rin's agency :3 so now I present to you, Chapter 13 of Forbidden Guardian.**

* * *

"_My companions make my heart strong. If I'm fighting for those I love, I care not what happens to this body."_ – **Erza Scarlet, FairyTail**

* * *

**Chapter 13: The Price to Pay**

After the battle with the Jumbo Flan, everyone immediately went to aid the bloodied Natsuki. Shizuru and Lightning pushed each other aside to be the first one to invoke a cure spell over the re-opened wound; Reito watched how his ward is fending the pinkette away from Natsuki; Fang was laughing at the blunette predicament, thinking that instead of being cured her wound would get infected at the flying dirt from the ground where Shizuru and Lightning were standing; while Nao rolled her eyes and cleared her throat.  
"Hello! As much as I want to laugh my ass off at how you two cure magic users are fighting off to see who's going to heal my cousin, you two are not qualified enough to fully heal her. Now why don't you two make a quick first aid of this wound and have Yun over there to summon her flying dragon?" Nao yelled at the two women who finally stopped their bickering. Lime eyes turned to jade ones who have a weak smile on her face despite the small trickle of blood slowly sipping out of the corner of her lips. A growl escaped her lips and glared at everyone around her and her cousin. "Move people!" she ordered. Within an instant, Shizuru and Lightning placed their hands atop of Natsuki's abdomen and performed a cure spell on the wound.

"Heh… I feel so pathetic seeking aid from you two." Natsuki said with a forced smirk on her face. As her wounds were temporarily being healed, even with the song or curaga, she knew her wounds would not close and be fully healed. With all her might, she fought the lulling effect of the cure magic to watch everyone around her.

"You know Kruger, Cid would not like it when he sees you like that." The think accent from Fang made Natsuki chuckle and cough at the same time. A grin is plastered on her face as she was surprised that the famous Natsuki Kruger can be in a hell of a pain with the looks of the wound she received. "Anyway, as my soon-to-be sister-in-law said, which I'm really against at that fact, we need to get you back in the agency. You need the help of Vanille. No offense to you sunshine and high summoner but my Vanille is better in healing people than you two." She grinned wider and dodged a rock that had been thrown by Lightning.

"Just summon your dragon Yun! We all are going to be in a lot of reprimanding from Vanille if we can't take this idiot to her on time." Nao said in annoyance.

"Okay! Okay! Sheesh!" Fang shook her head and took out a slight pinkish stone from her satchel and threw it up in the air. Performing a huge jump move, she unfolded her spear and strikes the stone in mid-air. "Bahamut!" She said and a purple glyph showed in the air. And within that instant, a loud shattering sound of glass echoed in the skies and a roar of a beast came after it. With a fast movement, a metallic dragon-like fiend swooped below the free-falling Fang and caught her on its back and the woman smiled cheekily as she made herself comfortable at its back.

Again, Shizuru was astonished at the huge Elemental and how it was summoned. Neither chant nor singing was done when the Elemental was called. She watched with her mouth slight open, at how the majestic metallic Elemental landed a few feet away from them.

"They are summoners from the Cocoon and Gran Pulse region. They once summon those beasts by chanting your mumbo-jumbo prayer but my cousin and I changed that." Nao commented. With Natsuki finally gave in to the stress and the lulling cure magic, she has her cousin in her arms, carrying her bridal style, she moved towards the metallic beast who cocked its head at her and the blunette. "Hey. Mind if we hitch a ride?" she asks the beast who just tilted its head and look at its summoner. When Fang showed Bahamut a thumbs up gesture, the beast lowered its head, indicating to put Natsuku at its nape where Fang can hold her.

"Well hop on. We still need to get that nasty fiend's body to show to Cid." Fang told everyone.

At first, Shizuru and Reito were hesitant in riding the dragon Elemental, but when Lightning skillfully jumped at the back of Bahamut and crawled beside Fang to check on Natsuki, Shizuru didn't think twice and climbed on the back of the beast with Reito's help.

"This would be funny if it's not mi'lady Shizuru who is playing the tug-Natsuki-war." Reito chuckled under his breath as he tries to push the heavy case at the Elementals' back. He still wonders how Nastuki was able to carry the heavy case in such ease.

Nao snickered and jumped on the farthest back of the Elemental with Duran beside her which is currently tamed compared to their fight before. As the Elemental got ready to take flight, Nao stared at her cousin with the thought of how she even survives the fall or being impaled by the legendary monster. _'Don't you dare Natsuki… Don't you even dare. She's not worth it!'_ She mentally noted, deducing a horrific idea on how the blunette even survived with only the deep wound.

* * *

Compared to the long hours of journey that the other raiders did (naming Natsuki and Nao's travel to the tower) the fast flying of Bahamut cut the travel for 2/3 of the time they used when they travelled. Even when they stopped by the fallen beast and Bahamut roaring in jest at seeing the dead fiend, the travel was just like smooth sailing and even before the sun rose, they were back in the agency.

As soon as the Elemental landed a footing on the open-ground, Nao jumped off the back of Bahamut and dashed towards the entrance of the agency. With a harsh kick on the wooden door that made it fall down from its hindges, the red-haired raider looked around for any sign of the bald satellite caretaker. "Cid! Get your bald ass out of your room and prepare a room for Natsuki!" she yelled at the semi-empty tavern area of the agency.

The occupants of the tavern slurred from their sleep and was about to yell at the one who disturbed them when they saw the furious looking red-haired raider giving anyone who look at her a murderous glare. Some of them went back to sleep and prayed they can ignore the shouting of Nao but a few people came out of the resting quarters area to check on who made the loud ruckus.

"Oi Nao! If you are making the wake-up call today, can you please keep it down? Some of us are sleeping you know." A man dressed in a dark blue pajama with yellow chocobo prints decorating it came out of the nearest door to the tavern. The man has a dark spiky hair that is styled in a disarrayed look, a small 'x' scar on his left jaw and sleepy-looking blue eyes. His sleepy notion made Nao growl at him and he blinked a bit, not being fazed by the threatening growl. "Easy there lady. Cid's not here if you are serious in looking for him. Got a call to check on the Shoopuf."

Nao growled and lunged at the dark-haired man, holding the collar of his chocobo-themed pjs. "Where is your girlfriend Fair? I need her seeing you are here." Nao commanded.

The tall man used his thumb to point at the room he was in, indicating that his girlfriend is there. "Sleeping. Why? You need some healing? Coz if you need Aerith knowing that Vanille is here means you are hurt very badly." The man said with curiosity in his tone. He looked at the smaller woman before him and checked if there are any visible wounds to be treated.

"Wake her up then!" Nao pushed the man and looked around for any sign of Vanille.

"What's going on here?" a sleepy tone from a man with auburn colored hair and wearing sweatpants and white shirt asked from the door next to the man Nao called as Fair. His features were more tamed but serious than the dark-haired man and the scar that ran on his forehead and slanting down between the bridge of his nose and left eye made him look dangerous.

Nao noticed the other man frowned for a second, wondering why he was there as well. Shaking the thought, she scrunched up her brows in annoyance. "Good you're here means your girlfriend is here too. I need Rinoa. Dammit! Leonheart, Fair! Go get your girlfriends and take them to an empty bedroom right now! My cousin is in danger and I'll be damn if I'll leave her well-being with just vanilla knowing your girlfriends are here to provide a high chance of treatment." She barked at the two men.

Before the two males could respond, the leader of l'Cie and her huntress companion came bustling through the door with Natsuki being carried by the latter that rendered them speechless and thought of they must be dreaming. Nobody ever let Natsuki or Nao be carried like a bride even if they are badly wounded. What made them more surprised is that the world famous summoner and the strongest guardian followed the two l'Cie members towards the room that Nao finally went to.

"Did you just-" the dark-haired man asked, pointing at the direction of the sleeping quarters.

Auburn haired man nodded his head and went back to his room to wake his girlfriend.

"Guess I'm not dreaming. Aerith wake up! Natsuki's wounded." Fair shouted at top of his lungs.

As if the dinner bell just rung, two female voices squeaked in surprise at the same time and a few more female voices followed suit at the surprised yelps. The buzzing whispers of Natsuki being wounded spread like wild fire and one after another, women dressed in their nightwear dashed out of their rooms and looked for the injured woman. All of them have one thing in mind and it was to heal Natsuki.

* * *

"Famous as always." Fang chuckled, hearing the commotion outside the room which was being guarded by Reito. She turned to check on the sleeping raider and decided to comfort Lightning who was leaning by the door, glaring at any other woman who tries to get inside the room. "Geez sunshine, you don't need to glare that dangerously. I swear that glare of yours can be compared to a behemoth king glaring at a wee mini flan." She chuckled and engulfed the woman in a restraining hug. "But seriously dear lassies, Kruger will be fine. And she wouldn't want you ladies to be worrying too much about her." She flashed the concerned female raiders a dashing smile that made them squeal a bit but ended it quickly when they saw the blizzaga-like glare from Lightning.

"Move! Or I'll have that summoner's Elemental eat you alive and I'll just be laughing about it." Nao's cold voice sent shivers down to everyone's spine, even the occupants of the room. The way she said the threat was more of a plan of action than a mere empty threat. With another bark of command to disperse, the unwanted female raiders scampered away, fearing for their lives. "Sometimes it's a pain being famous." Nao sighed and went inside the room together with a woman wearing a button-up pajama and has a sleepy look and a disarrayed light reddish-orange hair.

"Do I really have to check up on your boulder-brained cousin?" the new arrival asked, not yet noticing how badly Natsuki was.

Nao was about to answer when Shizuru beat her to it. The famous summoner recognized the woman, even if the dishelved look made her look different, as the greatest healer of their generation. The world-renowned Oerba Dia Vanille. "Please save my Natsuki. My healing skills are far inferior if compared to yours." Shizuru pleaded. It hurt her pride to admit that her magic and knowledge in healing is not enough to save her beloved Natsuki. And upon her whole life, she knew that there will come a time that she would plead for assistance. And that time is now.

When Nao told Vanille before that they are friends with the famous Shizuru Viola since Vanille herself is a huge fan of the summoner/singer, she just laughed out loud, not believing the cunning woman's words. And to add up that Natsuki's heart was already offered to the said summoner, THE NATSUKI that rarely shows affection out in the open was enough to think that they were lying. "Oh I do owe you an apology Nao." Vanille, said out loud, surprised to see the famous summoner in the agency. "Can I have an autograph?" Vanille started to smile widely and gush on and on about how she is Shizuru's biggest fan.

Fang chuckled at how Vanille can speak without even stopping to breathe. Deciding that Natsuki's life was far important than Vanille being in fangirl mode, she sighs and whistled for Vanille's attention. "Fangirl later, healer now love." Fang pointed the wounded woman on the bed that was now staining the white blanket with her wound.

"Drat! That doesn't look good." Vanille left Shizuru's side in an instant and went to check up on Natsuki's current status. The once was sleepy to fangirl look was replaced with a serious expression. Her facial feature showed how focused she is while looking at Natsuki's body. When her sight reached the abdomen part that cause of everyone's panic state, her brows knitted and she looked closer into the wound.

"Why is she not doing anything?" Shizuru asked Nao in a soft tone.

"Unlike you or any other people who learned how to use healing magic, the Dia clan tends to examine the root cause of the pain. From there, they will input a huge amount of their healing stuff and let the body system intake the natural regeneration." Nao frowned while watching Vanille poke the bloodied abdomen. "Well that what she told me anyway. Vanille stop poking the wound and tell us your diagnosis."

Shizuru understood what Nao meant and was in awe at how the Dia clan can be skillful to utilize the body's regeneration work on healing the wounds. She watched at how Vanille comically stuck out her tongue towards Nao to taunt her before going back to checking Natsuki. Her whole body trembled in nervousness, worried at Natsuki's well-being.

"Well, the first-aid worked nicely to avoid the infection that is now spreading at her abdominal area but we need to stop it and then proceed with cleaning and having her own body to heal on its own. Knowing this woman, I can bet she'll be growling like a wolf again within two days."

Everyone in the room sighed in relief while Lightning just closed her eyes instead.

"Great-"

"That is if we can close the wound." Vanille interrupted Shizuru's words. Her voice was grim and her hand was placed atop of the wound. "Our last mission took a lot of my magic and I can't even cure a simple stab wound if I don't sleep for another three hours." Nao stomped her foot to the ground loudly and began to curse in her native language, which Fang and Vanille clearly understood. "Nao be quiet. I can perform the magical stitching but I need some healer-type to maintain the flow of magic as a thread and not just ordinary healers."

"Then would it be alright if we lend a hand?" a meek voice said from the door. Everyone turned to the person who spoke and saw two women, respectively dressed in white and blue nightgowns, standing with Reito behind them.

"They said you called for them Zhang." Reito informed them. Nao was speechless for a minute before remembering she did call for the two. "Yeah, let them through Kanzaki."

Vanille smiled seeing the two top healers are present at the small satellite branch of the agency. "Rinoa! Aerith! It's been a while!" she giggled and hugged the two women who hugged her back.

The woman with black-hair with a streak of mahogany highlights, Rinoa Heartiuly, chuckled at Vanille's friendly antics. "Pure coincidence really. The gang just completed the mission at Mi'hen and Squall gave in to Selphie's continuous pleading of visiting the Moonflow." Rinoa explained.

"Tee hee, leave it to grumpy Squall to give in to Selphie." Vanille agreed. "How about you Aerith? Is the whole SOLDIER team here?" she asked, looking around for any sign of Tifa or Yuffie.

The woman with the long braided chestnut colored hair shook her head in response. "No. Zack said that the whole team be divided into groups and have different missions after they heard a certain Crimson Midnight donating a hefty amount to Matron's orphanage." She tilted her head toward Nao who grunted.

"Heard about that. Squall was annoyed at it too." Rinoa chimed in.

"Indeed. So as always Zack wanted to compete so I'm paired up with him; Cloud is with Tifa and Vincent; Cid Highwind is with Red XIII and Barret." She explained.

Nao raised a brow, curious to know where the last member of SOLDIER is. The mascot of the team. "Caithsith?"

Aerith smiled. "Off to Gold saucer. Seems that the amusement park is commencing a festival and he said he wanted to earn money without getting his costume ruined for once." She informed the red-haired

"Hmp! Not our fault that Garderobe was holding a tournament. Can we please get to heal my cousin now? The summoner is itching to kill anyone of you three with her glare." Said Nao irritably after noticing Shizuru's glaring at the three women who were gossiping like there's no emergency before them.

Vanille rolled her eyes. Nao only has a soft-spot on a handful of people and the most cushiony spot happens to be her cousin. "Well since they are here, I guess we can start. Ladies?" Vanille looked at the two who nodded their heads to show they are ready to start. "Alright, everyone aside for Nao and my two assistants, get out."

Those who were requested to leaved groaned and complained especially Shizuru. Vanille explained to the summoner and her guardian that the Dia way of healing is sacred and only the healers and the family can be present. Shizuru protested that she can be considered as family but Nao had enough of the protests and pushed the summoner out of the room. With the help of Lightning pulling he woman's collar back to guide Nao's pushing out the door. "Go and mingle with the raiders if you want, just get out!" Nao barked, slamming the door shut.

* * *

When the four ladies are left alone in the room, the once was friendly look on everyone's faces turned serious. They all turned to Vanille who let out a heavy sigh and faced Nao with an apologetic look. It was like they all had a mental communication on what Vanille's real reason for kicking everyone aside from them out.

Vanille immediately ran towards Nao and engulfed her girlfriend in a tight hug. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry." Vanille said with tears on her eyes.

Then and there, Nao knew the answer to her previous question. She balled up her fists and turned around, hiding the fact she too was crying yet again for her cousin. "Just go on. I'll deal with her once she's awake." She croaked. Her voice was now being drowned by her sadness, making it hard for her to even breathe. A hand was placed on her shoulder and she didn't even bother to look at the person behind her.

Vanille nodded and pushed away from Nao and gestured for the other ladies to position themselves at each side of Natsuki's bed. Before she start the process of closing up Natsuki's wounds, she asked out loud-

"Should we tell the high summoner of her predicament?"

Nao's tears fell freely and her right hand reached up to her chest, clenching the cloth where her heart is positioned. "No… This will only be between us. When the time comes, Viola would know." Nao forced herself to raise her head and looked at the wooden ceiling. "This is all for the sake of her anyway, let her see the price once it's being collected."

* * *

_"To receive our new __powers, each of us lost something irreplaceable! What you, slags, don't have is the determination to lose something important! No one can overcome the weight of our hearts_!" – **Cobra, FairyTail.**

* * *

**a/n: so in all of honesty, this chapter was done coz of the two quotes I read from Fairytail. They fit the current chapter perfectly. To all of those who played FFX/X-2, I bet you already know what Nao and Vanille are talking about at the last part of the chapter. Just trust me in this fic okay?**

**Hmm so you now met the 3 SS rank raiders and let me break it down to all of you again.**

**SOLDIER Team: Zack Fair, Aerith Gainsborough, Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockheart, Vincent Valentine, Cid Highwind, Red XIII (or Nanaki), Barret Wallace and Cait Sith.**

**SEED Team: Squall Leonheart, Rinoa Heartily, Selphie Tilmitt, Quistis Trepe, Irvine Kinneas, Zell Dintch.**

**L'Cie Team: Lighting Farron, Oerba Yun Fang, Oerba Dia Vanille, Sazh Katzroy, Hope Estheim, Snow Villiers.**

**For some Omake (Found in 9gag)**

**The team are walking around the forest of the Moonflow when suddenly, a bandit dropped down from the tree. Not carrying any weapon, aside from Nao that didn't unsheathed her knife, just watched the bandit creepily smile at them.**

**Bandit Takeda: Nobody move, this is a robbery. –takes out knife-**

**Nao: Fuhahahaha! Really?**

**Bandit Takeda: -Notice Natsuki- All of you will be robbed and I'll be taking tha blue haired beauty with me.**

**Shizuru: -raised brow- really now?**

**Natsuki: as if!**

**Reito: haha please take her then. **

**Nao: yah! Take the mutt. Ehehe.**

**Natsuki: -punched Nao's head softly- You idiot! How can a measly robber like him even rob us? There are four of us and 1 of him.**

**Bandit Takeda: I have a knife. –Shows a the knife-**

**Nao: -Laughed louder- Yeah? Hahaha we have the mutt. –Used her thumb to point at Natsuki who took her own knife an preparing to strike if needed- and the soon-to-be angry girlfriend. –Points at Shizuru-**

**Reito: Hey! Mi'lady Shizuru is NOT YET in a relationship with Kruger. Mister bandit, please take the blue haired woman if you must. –Pushes Natsuki forward a bit as a sign or offering-**

**Bandit Takeda: Hey are you all making fun of me?! – Sees the people he is robbing ignoring him- You see my knife?**

**Nao: yeah so?**

**Bandit Takeda: this is coated by poison. –Pointed the knife at Nao- The smalles cut can be fatal. –retracted the knife away from Nao- Take care. My knife has quite a burn. –Licks the blade of the knife-**

**The Natsuki Team all has their right brows raised at what they witnessed. Takeda realized what he did.**

**Bandit Takeda: I shouldn't have licked it… guh! –slumped down to the ground, mouth foaming-**

**Shizuru: uhm, shouldn't we help him?**

**Nao: heh! Sure if you want to… -Watch Shizuru kneel before the dying bandit- Unless you want him to take Natsuki over here and have a wonderful family together. **

**Shizuru realized what NAo meant and smiled at the dying Takeda.**

**Shizuru: Sorry… Bio~**

**-Cue Victory Fanfare-**

**Natsuki: I have a weird team….**

**Reito: Remind me next time not to tease Shizuru about trying to woo you for fun. –O_O-**


	14. Chapter 14: Meet the SS ranks

**A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews. To those who are asking on what Vanille is talking about Natsuki's true condition, this will be revealed by the near end part of this story, so I really advise you guys to not much think about it. Unless you are an FF fanatic like me and already know what it is. so without waiting, here is a non-combat update for Forbidden Guardian. **

* * *

**Chapter 14: Meet the SS ranks**

_"He's too stubborn to die." – **Lightning, Final Fantasy XIII**_

* * *

**-Enter 'Shuffle or Boogie' FFVIII OST-**

Shizuru waited impatiently for the doors of the room where Natsuki was to be opened. It was making her frustrated from the point of biting the insides of her cheek to maintain her composure. Beside her, Reito was checking on his sore palms and gently spread a healing salve over the wounded parts. He never knew that the carrying case that Natsuki always carry was heavy enough to give him blisters. Shizuru noticed this and smiled at his guardian before taking his hand and chanting a minor healing spell.

"Thank you mi'lady." Said Reito with a dashing smile. His blisters immediately healed after Shizuru's cure spell touched it. He saw his ward smiled at him and went back to waiting for the healers to come out of the room where Natsuki is. His heart clenched at how Shizuru was so worried for the blunette. It was like the time they were children, where Shizuru's attention was devoted to Natsuki alone. "Mi'lady, don't fret. With the lady Dia beside Kruger, I know she'll survive this." He told Shizuru, hoping to ease her worry even for a bit.

But the summoner didn't believe him that much. Sure the Dia clan, as the teachings and personal experience with the Fuuka healers which happens to be from the Dia clan, are very skilled in healing but somehow she felt that not even the greatest healer such as Oerba Dia Vanille can fully heal Natsuki. Her gut feeling made sure of such concern.

"Want some tea lady summoner?" a voice diverted Shizuru's attention from the door. Crimson eyes looked up to a woman clad in a pink zipped vest that extends to just above her hips, which also features a low fold-over collar rimmed with gold. Over her arms she has dark brown arm warmers with brown gloves and dons a long pink skirt with a silver waistband and black pants, a brown belt and black shoes.

Shizuru was surprised to see a pair of astonishing blue eyes behind silver rimmed glasses. The woman before her showed a sweet smile before placing a cup of steaming black tea on the table before her. "Ookini, ano?" she said with a questioning look. Never did she meet such woman before.

The blue-eyed woman giggled and offered a hand to the summoner. "Quistis Trepe. From the SeeD team." Quistis informed the summoner who shook her hand.

"Ah hello Trepe-san and thank you for the tea. I'm Shizuru Viola and this is my guardian, Reito Kanzaki." Shizuru motioned her hand to introduce her guardian.

Reito beamed a toothy smile at the beautiful blonde before him. Sure there are a handful of women who can catch his attention and the beauty before him can be added to the list. "Greetings. You said you are from the SeeD team?" he asked and Quistis nodded her head. "I'm amazed that a woman such as you is a part of this mercenary agency, let alone a part of the high ranked team."

Quistis raised her right brow in surprise. Nobody, aside from her team's former contracts and the agency itself, knows that the SeeD team is one of the high rankers in Rin's agency. "You are well-informed mister Kanzaki. I assure you, every woman in this agency is not to be belittle with mister Kanzaki. Especially dear Lightning Farron." She smiled and sat down on the empty chair in front of the Fuukan citizens. "But I must warn you, there are things that should not be spoken out loud here." She whispered for only Reito and Shizuru to hear. "So anyway, you are Nat-kun and Nao-kun's current contractee?" Shizuru, placing the teacup down to the table after taking a few calming sips, gave Quistis an affirmative response. This piqued Quistis' interest. "Wow, so the rumors were indeed true."

"Rumors?" Both Reito and Shizuru asked.

"Yup. The rumored woman that claimed the ice beauty's heart. You are quite the celebrity here Miss Viola and not because you are the famous summoner-slash-singer." Quistis informed Shizuru. She took a sip of her tea.

"Don't forget to add 'The reason why our handsome princess declines summoner escorts' rumor." Thye thick accent from Fang joined in the conversation. She sat beside Quistis with a mug of what seemed to be coffee due to the steam coming out of it held by her hand and placed it on the wooden table with a loud thud. "Hey there Quisty, why are you up so early?"

The blonde rolled her eyes and sighed. "Nao-kun's sudden arrival woke almost everyone up. Since I can't go back to sleep, might as well get ready for the day. How's your mission Fang?" Quistis inquired.

Fang grinned and pointed at Shizuru. "As you can see, the ice princess is here as well as her company., though that hard-headed Kruger was severely injured when we found her. Well when Duran brought her to us. I hope Cid won't dock it in our reward." Fang stated with a childish grin. Green-colored eyes turned to Shizuru who was once again looking at the direction of Natsuki's room. "You worry too much mate. That ice princess is tough as the screws on a machina."

"Indeed she is. So to take your mind off these things-" Quistis took out a deck of cards from the pouch belted at her hips. "Mind playing Triple Triad* with me?" she asks, showing the Fuukan citizens the deck.

Reito examined the cards and doesn't recognize the design. By the looks of it, the back of the cards is themed in brown and the front shows different designs. "I'm sorry, we are not familiar with that game." He told the blonde beauty.

Fang laughed and took the deck from Quistis. "Great answer there pretty boy. Don't play with Quisty over here if the game is Triple Triad. She's the best in the agency, earned the title of 'king' and second in the National contests." She shuffled the deck and took five cards on top of it. "Even Light can't win against you and she has a lot of face cards." With the cards in her hand, she spread it on the table to show the two non-raiders. All cards show a face card. "I knew it, all rare cards. Lookie Quisty, not all are familiar with Triple Triad just like Sphere Break* or Tetra Master*. Right mate?" she directed her question to Shizuru who was looking at the cards.

Crimson eyes found the face cards lay before her as intriguing. Sure Fuuka has their Chocobo racing* and Garderobe have their G-Bike* which Natsuki is a pro at, but never have she encountered the game called Triple Triad.

"Oh right, I forgot that the game is not that famous yet." Quistis remembered, shaking her head. Looking at the curious summoner, she took the deck on the table and searched for a certain card. After a shuffle, she found the card and gave it to Shizuru. "If in case you want to try the game, here's a card to help you start." She told the summoner.

Shizuru took the card and was again surprised of the card design. It was Natsuki, facing a bit sideways and wearing tinted glasses that she held a few inches down her face, revealing her left emerald eye. At the upper left corner of the card showed four digits. Left = A, Down=A, Up=5, Right = 4.

"Dang! I don't have that card yet! Does Queen sell that?" Fang inquired upon seeing the rare card.

And they continued to chat about the Triple Triad game, with Quistis teaching Shizuru and Reito about the game mechanics. Meanwhile, back at the room where Natsuki was being healed, Vanille and the other healers are finally done with healing the blunette. The Dia thanked her co-healers whom were now huffing out continuously.

"I'm sorry ladies. This would be a lot easier if I weren't all battered up in our mission a while ago." Vanille apologized.

Aerith merely shook her head and regained her breathing pace. "Not a problem. We do need to take care of each other."

"Yeah, what Aerith said." Rinoa huffed out loud and slumped down on the floor with her back leaning on the bed. "Man, you cousins sure are daredevils. No wonder Rin gave you such ranks." She showed a lazy grin as she leaned back her head.

"Fufufu, you should see their latest achievement." Aerith looked at Nao who was silently watching them. "Or should I say, Natsuki's kill. To think she finally avenged Juliet."

Nao immediately tensed upon hearing her former lover's name. Her mind reeled back on the first time they encountered the Th'uban, the day Juliet died. Combing her hair with her left hand, Nao gave Aerith a glare. "She didn't need to do that if we would've known that a huge price would be paid. Stupid mutt."

Vanille chuckled and went to Nao and gave her a hug. "You know that Natsuki loves you like that. But I too must agree that this stunt was the stupidest of all. And I'm thinking of other lesser stupid things she done like infiltrating that corrupt governor by the disguise of a very sexy hooker." She gave Nao a quick peck on the lips and pulled the red-haired raider into her bossom. "Nao… I'm sorry if I was too late."

Nao held her tears inside and shook her head. "No it's not your fault. Just keep this as a secret." She sighed and kissed Vanille's cheek. "You guys want to grab some breakfast? Waiting for Natsuki to wake up will just drain us of our energy." All three ladies nodded their head and went out, leaving Nao alone with Natsuki.

Left alone, Nao approached her cousin's sleeping form and sat beside her. Taking Natsuki's hand, she placed her cheek on the palm of her cousin's hand. The held back tears slowly flowed down and she cried silently beside her cousin's sleeping body. "Why… Natsuki…"

* * *

With the tavern almost full due the occupants of the agency having breakfast, Vanille took a few minutes before she spotted Fang dining with the famous summoner and the other top-ranked raiders. It was a surprised to her that the SeeD, Zack and her own team are eating at the same joined tables.

"I'm telling you, this hot babe cannot be Kruger's girlfriend! Heck I never knew she's the 'relationship' type of gal." a man wearing a brown long coat that made him look like a cowboy stated with a disbelief look in his face.

A girl wearing a yellow jumper rolled her eyes and whacked the man with a roll of newspaper. "Irvine, it's rude to be noisy early in the morning."

"But Selphie, would you even believe this?" Irvine whined. He turned to his teammates who are having breakfast and small chats with the other occupants of the table. "Squall, buddy, don't you agree with me?" he asked the man with a scar on his forehead who just ignored him. He then turned to Lightning who was silently eating her meal. Everybody knew that Natsuki and Lightning have a mutual silence with each other. "Lightning?"

"Shut up." The pinkette stated coldly.

Irvine frowned and was about to ask another occupant of their table, Rinoa, Aerith and Vanille emerged from the crown of hungry raiders. "Hey it's the princess!"

Immediately, Squall and Zack shot up from their respective seats and went to assist Rinoa and Aerith. The two women giggled and let their boyfriends lead them to the table, leaving Vanille behind.

"No fair! I want to be treated like a princess too." Vanille stomped her foot on the floor with a pout on her face.

Fang let out a loud laugh and patted the empty space beside her. "Oh don't whine. That Zhang is too busy cuddling with her cousin I bet." Her sister stomped her way to the empty seat and slumped down with her arms crossed. "Oh c'mon Van, you know those two are close to being princesses. Rinoa being the Dollet city president's daughter and Aerith being the Cetra princess-like lady." She told the healer with a toothy smile.

A dark-skinned man with a puffy afro and a chocobo chick sitting atop of it approached Vanille and gave her a plate full of breakfast-themed food. "You better eat up young lady. You had a rough day and Etro knows how much sleep you would need later. And you should leash down your pet here Lightning, keeps teasing Lady Viola over there along with Irvine." The man named Sazh Katzroy said to the leader of the l'Cie.

Lightning merely nodded her head and hit Fang's head with a triple rolled-up newspaper and then turned to Quistis to handle Irvine. The blonde SeeD raider obliged and hit Irvine with the soup ladle she got from the empty Giant Crab soup. Both victims of the headstrikes cried out in pain. This started the bickering of the whole raiders in the table minus Zell Dincht who was stuffing himself with a huge amount of hotdogs.

Both Fuukan citizens laughed at how the raiders interacted before them. It was like none of them even show a sign of superior strength over the other lower-ranked raiders or even any boastfulness in their current ranks. Even the silent ones naming Squall and Lightning.

"I see you all are entertaining the high summoner." The voice of Nao stopped the comical commotion in the S-plus table. Her eyes were once again donned by the tinted goggles as she made her way by the table and took an empty chair behind Vanille and placed it in-between Vanille and Hope Estheim.

Vanille leaned close to Nao who was now seated beside her and gave her a kiss at her cheek. "Morning. What took you so long? And what's with the goggles? Take 'em off." She told her girlfriend.

"Sorry, I can't. Anyway, I had to change Natsuki out of her bloodied clothes." Nao reached at the center of the table, randomly picking up different kinds of food for breakfast. After filling her plate, she found her sights towards the worried-looking Fuukan summoner. "She's fine, if these ladies ever forgot to tell you." She informed Shizuru.

A sigh of relief escaped Shizuru's lips. Hearing the condition of Natsuki from Nao was a reliable confirmation for her nerves to finally calm down. "Thank you Nao." She picked up her empty plate and tea cup and stood up from her seat. "Please excuse me; I would like to check on Natsuki." She told everyone and left the table.

Reito, being Shizuru's guardian and feeling concerned for the fallen raider, excused himself by telling the raiders that he needs to be by the side of his summoner and followed Shizuru.

With the raiders left on the table, Lightning, Zack and Squall all turned their attention to Nao. Nao knew what the team leaders are thinking. "She's fine." She confirmed them, holding the real condition of Natsuki to herself.

"I could never imagine anyone of us even fight and defeat that monster. How did your cousin even go toe to claw with that heinous fiend?" It was the l'Cie member, the man with a beach-bum like hair, who asked Nao. Snow Villiers.

"She's just good. Just as always, Snow." Nao said with a stoic expression. "Let's just hope Rin would give the mutt her reward. As far as I can remember, the reward was so unthinkable that the requestor wanted to personally give the reward and it might be a great help in making that school for Matron." She said while munching on the strip of bacon. Everyone all thought that the school would indeed help the woman they all call Matron in her line of work.

Zack placed his third empty plate on the side and picked out another plateful of food. "Well the requestor is the owner of the other mercenary business so I'm guessing that can fund the construction of the school Matron wanted for the other children. What's that mercenary place's name again Aerith?" she looked at his girlfriend who was enjoying her cup of tea.

Aerith hummed a bit and placed the teacup down. "The Clan Centurio. I think their main camp is located at Rabanastre." She answered. They have come to a common ground with the other mercenaries but if they face each other in a battle, they have no means of holding back. "I believe we encountered their top team once. The Sky Pirates." She leaned close to Zack who nodded his head.

"Anyway, am all curious here." The SeeD member, Selphie, leaned to the table and curiously stared at the bored looking Nao. "How true is it that you were childhood friends with that famous summoner?"

Nao looked at the preppy raider and nodded her head while munching on toasted bread. "100%. And the summoner is the mutt's longtime lover."

Irvine leaned back to his chair and imitated the shape of a gun with his hand. "Can't blame her, that summoner is indeed sexy." He commented and made a shooting gesture with his hand.

Nao swiftly picked up her table knife and thrust it a few centimeters away from Irvine's neck. "Let my cousin hear that and I'll be glad to watch you being shot by your own shotgun, Kinneas." She warned him and retracted the knife back and went to sit properly in her seat. Her sudden action made the SeeD team to tense and be ready to break any brawl but her withdrawal made sure that she won't cause any damage, again.

While munching on another slice of toasted bread, Nao set her gaze on Quistis and asked on how she assessed the strength of the Fuukan citizens.

Quistis, as everyone in the agency knows her, is a 'Blue Magic' user. This skill enables her to copy and use any abilities used by monsters or special set of items. And with this, she has mastered the skill called 'Scan'. Using Scan, an ability to gauge the status of anything she casted it upon, she had gathered a nice amount of information regarding the two Fuukan citizens. "The guardian, even if he carries the title of greatest guardian, is not much strong just like the rumors say. I bet Zidane from Tantalus Theater Group can go toe-to-toe at him." She informed the raider.

"Isn't Zidane that monkey kid from S rank?" Nao inquired with a questioning look.

"Indeed. So I can assume you now know how strong is mister Kanzaki since you have beaten Zidane a few times now. So for that summoner-" Quistis sighed deeply. "Her curative spells are not much, comparing to Rinoa and Aerith but her potential in being a summoner is unmatched. How many Elementals does she have Nao-kun?" she inquired.

Nao recalled the Elementals she'd seen being summoned by Shizuru and counted them with her fingers. The others saw this and have a wide-eyed expression when her hand counted three and mentioned the names. "I saw that samurai-like guy, Yojimbo I think and he extorted money from me just to assist. That damn Elemental took 100K gil. Then there's the red flying bird that took the summoner down the tower. The fire Elemental that took a liking to the mutt and last and most awesome is that scary Elemental named Anima." She told them. The last Elemental she said made Zack choke on his drink.

"Say what? You mean to tell me that the rumors are true?" Zack asked in disbelief while Aerith is patting his back.

"She is the famed high summoner so taming the feared Anima is not much of a sweat for her. As far as my scan shows, those four aren't the only Elementals she have." Quistis added.

Nao nodded. Of all the travels she did with Natsuki, there are times they spy on the brunette summoner to check up on her well-being. And their last visit informed them on how many Elementals Shizuru have. "The summoner has eight Elementals and one unclaimed."

Everyone around the table have their jaws drop open in surprise. It was normal to have at least one Elemental, everyone in the SS ranks has at least one, but to have more than five is insane. They all watched how Nao was just calm when those in the table, minus Lightning and Squall, have expressions like they've seen the Long Gui.

"What? She is the high summoner, it's obvious. You should've seen when she's just a kid; Ifrit almost ate her if not for Natsuki." Nao stated like it was the obvious thing in the world. She shrugged and continued eating her meal, ignoring the chatters on how they can arrange a sparring match with Shizuru or in the team leaders' case, a match with Natsuki.

**-End music-**

* * *

**-Enter 'Fragments of Memories' FFVIII OST-**

At the room where Natsuki slept, Shizuru watched how the covers on Natsuki's body moved up and down slowly, indicating her breathing was normal. Reito watched as well with an unreadable expression in his face.

"She saved me." Reito said out loud. It hurt his pride that his rival had saved him that resulted he woman in such state. He was indebted to her.

Shizuru placed a hand over Reito's left clothed bicep and gave him a sympathetic look. The rivalry between Natsuki and Reito never ended. With the raven haired guardian never hid his displeasure when Natsuki gets any praise and jealousy on how the blunette never left her heart. Sure she kept trying, so hard, to give Reito a chance. But when the thought of Natsuki even a sliver of it, makes her heart clench when she even tries to love Reito. It pained her that she cannot return his feelings. "Reito, even if she hated you, she values life more than hate." She told him.

"I know. I know that. She-" he took a deep breath. "I talked to her the night before we fought, it was refreshing." He looked at the sleeping Natsuki who twitches her brows a few times then went back to being relaxed. "If not for the fact we are fighting over you, we could've been great friends." He told Shizuru.

Shizuru sat beside Natsuki and held the hand that lay atop of her blanket. The slender brows of the raider twitched yet again and she can only stroke the arm of Natsuki to try and ease twhatever Natsuki had been dreaming about. Her eyes watched each and every facial expression the sleeping Natsuki did. From the frowns to the relaxed ones, she watched it carefully and thoughtfully. Like if she look away, Natsuki would disappear again.

Reito knew from the start that his strength is not enough to match Natsuki. When he though he finally gained the upper hand, the blunette seems to get stronger than him. This was proved when they were up against the Th'uban. He knew he was scared and almost did nothing to damage the beast. But Natsuki fought like there was nothing at stake. Like her life was not important to her just to beat the said fiend.

"Say Reito… would it be possible if we let Natsuki and Nao be Fuukan Guardians?" she asked, knowing that the answer will always be the same.

The raven-haired guardian placed a hand atop f Shizuru's shoulder and sighed deeply. "You know why that rule is present mi'lady. We cannot bend the rule."

Shizuru did not respond and held Nastuki's hand tighter. She knew why the rule as established and how painful it can be if she broke it. But with the thought of Natsuki unable to be with her due to the stupid rules continues to hurt her like poison.

"But-" Reito continued. "Maybe Kruger can break that rule. She is as stubborn as a Behemoth and as crafty as a goblin. So I think that someday she will break Fuuka's greates rules." He offered a smile to the brunette who was now looking at him in disbelief. "And I will not lose to her mi'lady. This guardian will not be defeated by this bandit even if I'm down to my last breath." He declared.

This surprised Shizuru. Yesterday, she was sure that Reito would be frustrated and attempting to end Natsuki's life while she sleeps but after the fight with the ferocious fiend, he changed. Like he finally released the weight on her shoulders. "A-ara? Okay?" she was unsure on how to respond to his abrupt declaration. She then felt Natsuki's hand reciprocating the hold on her hand and she immediately look at the now awake Natsuki.

Smiling, Natsuki has her sights at the guardian who stood so close beside Shizuru and she possessively held on the brunette's hand. "Then savor your last breath, I will not let a guard win the princess if this bandit can kick your ass." She told the raven haired guardian, decribing him as the guard and she the bandit.

* * *

Moments ago at Natsuki's sub consciousness; she was sitting at an ice-covered area with the male who had called himself as Duran. "One wish in exchange for power and the completion of the mission I have set on you. Remember that Natsuki Kruger." He told her.

"One rule-free wish in exchange for the power you hold and the quest to seek your beloved. A fair price." She stood up when she heard another male voice and she felt irrirated even without knowing what the voice was saying. "Until next we meet, Duran the Fayth of Lady Kiyohime." She grinned and turned around to meet the welcoming light of the real world.

"Natsuki Kruger." Duran slowly stood up and looked at the ice-filled ceiling. "You are what Lady Kiyohime had predicted, I pray to your goddess to lead your fate without much tears."

**-End Music-**

* * *

"_You are a fading dream, but one that has been touched by reality. Run, dream. Run on into the daylight. And walk into reality." –**Yojimbo, Final Fantasy X**_

* * *

**Final Fantasy Encyclopedia!**

**Triple triad:** a card game in FF8 that is based on tarot cards. A lot of rules are in the game but the point is to trump the cards by basing it on the numbers/letter present on the top right part of the card.

**Sphere break:** minigame in FFX-2. A mathematical puzzle game played by collecting coins.

**Tetra Master:** minigame in FF9. The basis of the game is for cards on the grid to challenge adjacent cards, whereby the values written on the card are assessed to decide the winner. This is the same as 3T but with additional arrows in the card art.

**Chocobo racing:** just as the title said, a race between chocobos. Imagine a horse race but instead of horses, chocobos are the ones running.

**G-Bike:** the game is points based, and the player will gain points by taking out motorcyclists but will lose points when the truck is hit.

**Beastiary:**

**Long Gui** – 3rd highest HP in the whole ff series. This fiend is huge and walks freely at the Grand Pulse of FFXIII. HP is 16,200,000.

* * *

**A/N: So how was it? feel free to leave me a review and do suggest if you want some extra scenes in the fic XD laters!**


	15. Chapter 15: Changes

**A/N:** Wohoo! Finally uploaded this! All thanks to Kazama Kazuma in the Mai Hime group that i was able to update this fic. He helped me fix the document problem I had so tada! :) Honestly, this is the longest chapter update I have ever made. So feel free to read and tell me if I fail yet again or made ya guys happy :3 I don't want to lengthen this so... I present to you Forbidden Guardian Chapter 15... Now i'm going back to playing Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade...

Disclaimer: I don't own FF series, Mai Hime, and the OST used in this update.

* * *

_You can't win if you're always on the defensive, to win you have to attack._** - Yagami Light, Death Note**

* * *

**Chapter 15: Changes**

About five minutes of silent stare down between Reito and Natsuki, a low growl suddenly filled the room and Natsuki blushed since the source of the growl came from her stomach. Her hand immediately clutched her tightening gut. "Err, sorry. I haven't eaten anything aside from the rations before the fight." She told the two who just looked at her in disbelief. It was like she never was in danger. Her hand rubbed on her stomach and felt a long numbed gash on it. Her sights immediately darted at the said place, pulled her shirt upward and the look on her face was indescribable. "WHAT THE FUCK HAPPEN TO MY BODY?!" she shouted in surprise. The numbed gash was a deep brownish scar that ran across her middle abdomen, just below the tattooed part. Her left index finger traced the deep scar and felt horrified at how wide and long it was.

**Outside.**

"She's awake. I told you she'll be shocked when she sees the nasty scar." Vanille said knowingly. She sat beside her girlfriend, fiddling Nao's claws. The scream from the bedroom made her drop the mechanism to the wooden table. Nao cringed, knowing how her cousin hates scars.

After their breakfast, with some of their teammates leaving for a bit, Quistis challenged the remaining occupants of the table to a Triple Triad game. The occupants naming Vanille, the SS team leaders, Aerith, Rinoa and Nao. The current opponent Quistis is the l'Cie leader and the pinkette is having a hard time facing the 'Master King'. Lightning and Quistis were card battling it out with Quistis trumping the two cards before they were all interrupted by the loud scream. The scream practically startled the usual calm and composed pinkette and made her throw her three cards in the air.

Lightning regained her composure and gave the young Dia a cold look. "You left a scar on her body?!" she asked incredulously. Vanille was skilled. Skilled enough to erase even the deepest wound anyone would gain. If not requested, Vanille would definitely heal a wound until the coloration of the skin was near the same as the original color. And Natsuki would never, ever request for a scar. The last time the color did not match, she had to ask Zell to hide the discoloration by tattooing the said spot which happen to be her abdomen.

The healer backed away from her leader and raised both her hands on a chest level. Beside her were the two other healers who received the murderous glare from the l'Cie leader. "W-wait Lightning! Let me explain." She stuttered. Her eyes searched for Fang to help her from being strangled by Lightning but the huntress was nowhere to be found.

"Give it a rest Farron. The wound was poisoned, as Van said before." Nao said in a bored manner. Sure Vanille was her girlfriend and she was supposed to protect her, but if the person threatening her is a team member, that's where she wouldn't interfere. A silent code within the agency teams. She played with a crimson colored sphere that she held and eyed it carefully. "I checked the poison and it leaves the cells of the infected area good as dead. If it wasn't for those three, the mutt would've been walking with a hole in her body." she said without looking at the angry pinkette. As she stared at the sphere, she saw a somewhat figure inside, a golden colored eye, and blinked at her curiously. "You've done a great job here Fair. Your team grasped the crystallization almost perfectly." She threw the sphere to the spiky-haired man who caught it with ease.

"Not easy though. This material crystal, 'Materia', is rare enough that we only had a handful of them to crystalize some elementals." Zack explained and placed the material sphere inside her pocket. "This method is still levels below your creations."

Nao leaned back to his wooden chair and placed her arms at the back of her head for support. "As my cousin and I have said, there is only 1 material that can perfect the life plate and it's a rare one that we only obtain three of it."

But Nao's laid back gesture annoyed Lightning and the former military officer moved in an unnoticeable speed to grab hold of the red-head's shirt. Eyes that can be in-par to Natsuki's death glare, Lightning stared at the goggles of Nao hard enough to see through them. But the tint was dark enough to make Nao's eyes completely hidden. "Why are you so calm about this? She is your cousin."

Brows furrowed and Nao looked at how Lightning was masking her worry with her anger. But her worry was nothing compared to her own concerns. "Yes she is my cousin and not yours, so back off Lightning." The hold on her shirt tightened and Lightning's glare was set on her like the blade of her gunblade. "Lightning, she's not your little sister. Natsuki is tougher than how you think she is." She explained in a calmer tone.

Natsuki reminded Lightning of herself. How she is aloof to everyone, how she tries to be the level-headed within the group. Seeing the woman as a mirror, it was enough for her own sister-y instinct to move and treat the blunette as a family she needed to protect. "Yes she is not Serah, but she is family nonetheless. Every one of us in this ranking is family and family protects each other. No matter how annoying everyone gets." She released her hold on Nao's shirt and sighed deeply.

"Just like the matron said." A husky accented voice said from behind Lightning. A hand was placed on the pinkette's shoulder and immediately, Lightning tensed up for a second then calmed down.

Nao craned her head a bit and saw Fang holding on Lightning shoulders. She then deduced that the contact of Fang's hand to Lightning's shoulder is the reason why she calmed down. "You're late. A few more minutes and Lightning over here would've feed me to her horse." She grumbled and straightened her shirt. Fang merely grinned and pulled Lightning away from Nao.

"You know, I just slept for a few hours and you guys are killing each other. Again." Said a rasped voice that interrupted the heated glare of Claire and Nao.

Everyone looked at the source of the voice and saw Natsuki, dressed in a black sleeveless shirt, baggy pants and brown sandals. Beside her is Shizuru supporting her weight while Reito made sure none of them would fall down. He did offered his assistance but Natsuki made sure he would not even touch the ends of her hair.

"Natsuki" "Kruger!" everyone shouted in chorus, even the other raiders around them. Cheers and congratulations filled the room as they welcomed Natsuki like a hero.

"Hey guys." Natsuki gave a lopsided smirk and made their way to their table.

As Natsuki sat down beside Nao, she was instantly got hit by a folded newspaper at the back of her head, resulting her head to be pushed down to the wooden table. She immediately sprung her head back up, with a hand holding on the sore spot, and glared at her cousin who had hit her with the newspaper. "The fuck?! What gives spider?!"

"For making all of us worry you dumbass!"Nao told her cousin with a scowl on her face.

A growl once again sounded from Natsuki's stomach and those who have heard the sound, naming everyone in the table, looked at her with an incredulous look. Natsuki blushed at how her body betrayed her by embarrassing her in front of the other raiders and she hung her head low and started eating her breakfast.

Shizuru couldn't help but chuckle at how bashful Natsuki can get at certain times. When they were kids, Natsuki never interacted with other kids. Usually it would just be her, Nao or Reito who can make Natsuki even talk to them. But now, seeing how she can interact with other people makes her wonder what had happen during the times they were apart.

* * *

A few chatters filled the table. The leaders all stayed silent albeit Lightning keep on hitting Fang for teasing her, Nao flirted with Vanille and vice versa, Natsuki ate her food and avoided any teasing attempts from Shizuru, and Reito was playing with a small ball of ice he conjured up to kill some boredom.

"Say Natsuki, how much money did you donate to Matron?" Zack asked, cutting the chatters and focusing back to Natsuki who had finished her meal. Zack was not surprised when he saw four plates stacked up beside Natsuki's dessert bowl.

The spoon that Natsuki held was placed down to the bowl and she swallowed the cold dessert she had been chewing for a few seconds. "About two-thirds of our reward money plus two-fourth of the arena reward. Matron needed a lot of money for grocery this month." She informed the dark-haired SOLDIER.

Matron. Shizuru had been hearing the said name from the group and wondered who was the mysterious person is. It seems that when the person called Matron is involved, they all looked like they are one team by discussing on how to remake the matron's house or provide budget for food. And right now, she was keen to know who the said Matron is and why even Natsuki was donating money to her.

Zack crossed his arms and tilted his head to the left a bit. He hated calculations and the thought on how much Natsuki donated was frying his brain. "Ah! I hate math. Aerith?" he turned to his girlfriend who chuckled and patted his right cheek.

"Silly SOLDIER, that's why Cloud never gives you the team pocket money. The estimated money would be three hundred fifty thousand gil. Two hundred fifty from the arena rewards and a hundred from their mission. Is that correct Nao?" Aerith turned to Nao who was filing her nails in boredom.

"Yeah, yeah what she said. It's too early for math and I'm already sleepy here." Nao commented dryly. She couldn't recall on how much they had donated recently but she was sure it was over two hundred thousand gil. It was the usual routine ever since they found a good paying job, that they will give at least a hundred thousand gil a month as payment for Matron's kindness.

Squall grunted. He may not admit it but he has a small one-sided rivalry with the Crimson Midnight for their donations to Matron. He was raised in Matron's place and he took pride in being the one who established the assistance given to her. But since the two women came to Matron's aid, the SEED team had been falling behind the list on the teams who donate the most to Matron's financial assistance.

The grunt was heard by Nao and she smiled like a Cheshire cat. Unlike Natsuki, she had noticed how Squall was pissed off when they all talk about giving assistance to Matron and she always knew how to push the silent lion's weak spots. One of them is what her mouth had started to speak out. "Aww the little lion cub is annoyed at how much we have donated to Matron this month. How cute." She taunted.

Like unchaining a rabid animal, Squall swiftly moved up from his seat and lunge at Nao. The whole table shook and the utensils scattered as Squall stepped on it in order to get to the taunting red-head. But his attempt to strangle the woman failed when he was immediately slammed down in the middle of the table with both Lightning and Natsuki's feet at his back, pinning him in place.

This surprised everyone, even Nao. Sure Lightning's fast reaction was superb and she had anticipated that the pinkette would be stopping Squall. But to see Natsuki even moving without being noticed was the most surprising of all. Everyone went dead silent and all eyes are focused on the people on top of the table.

Furious emerald eyes and concerned blue eyes looked down at the squirming male below them. When they heard Nao's taunts, both of them didn't expect the calm and collective Squall Leonhart to snap at Nao and attempted to attack her. The two looked up and then at each other only to be surprised at the recent event. Lightning was surprised that Natsuki moved as swift as her while Natsuki didn't know she even moved.

"Will you two stop stepping on my boyfriend? The boys around here are starting to spread new rumors on how you two are interested in BDSM." Rinoa cried out after seeing Squall flat down on the table. She feared that another agency brawl would breakout and she hates stopping the leaders once the fight had begun. The SS and Crimson Midnight leaders don't know how to hold back when they are fighting each other and the fact that they have to pay for all the damages their leaders caused.

But the two didn't move and stared each other down with Squall still under their boots.

"Light…" Fang warned, recognizing the flicker on Lightning's eyes. She pushed her chair back and readying herself to tackle Lightning away to avoid anything drastic yet again.

"Natsuki, no." Nao warned her cousin as well when the surprised expression turned into a smirk. "We still haven't paid the repairs in Bikanel branch so don't add up another debt!"

Quistis and Vanille shook their heads in dismay while Zack smiled like a child as he waited for the next things that could happen. Shizuru and Reito were lost at the silent communications the raiders are having around the table.

Getting tired of being treated as a doormat, Squall grumbled and grabbed the legs that had pinned him down and forcibly pulled Natsuki and Lightning down to the table. The force was enough to crack the thick table when the two female raiders landed on top of it.

Upon initial reaction, both women had their palms supporting them when they were whipped down to the table. Both of them are now glaring at Squall who jumped off the table and stood in defensive mode

As if a trigger was pulled, the SS-class raiders around the table all stood up and set out in either defensive or offensive stance. They have their sights on the leaders of l'Cie and Crimson Midnight as the two women glared at Squall who was anticipating their next step. The lower class raiders stopped whatever they were doing and watched the SS-class giving silent warnings to each other.

The silence and tension was thick enough that a butter knife can cut through it and a single pushpin can be heard if it would fall to the floor. Nobody from the SS-class moved and Natsuki and Nao stealthily checked their surroundings for any means of escape and grab a usable weapon to face off the others.

Fuukan citizens looked at the raiders in curiosity. One minute they are playing around and teasing each other and the next they are all emitting a killer intent. Thinking that Natsuki would be in danger and the fact that she had just been healed, Shizuru stood up and walked towards the spot between Squall and Natsuki thinking that she needs to stop any oncoming brawl.

"Ara, such tension. Will you all please calm down?" Shizuru said, smiling at Squall who has a serious look on his face.

Nao did a facepalm while the other raiders just gawk at Shizuru who stood before the three leaders. Nobody moved until Nao hastily lunged at Shizuru and pushed her away from the middle of the raiders. The tackle sent both of them to the neighboring table as Reito shouted Shizuru's name in concern. "**Vun dra muja uv **Julia! **Yna oui dryd cdibet**?" [For the love of Julia! Are you that stupid?] Nao shouted in disbelief. She pushed herself away from the startled brunette and turned around to focus on the heated stare down between Natsuki, Lightning and Squall. "You can't just waltz in-between mercenaries, acting like a god damn peacekeeper. You may be a summoner but here you are just rich citizen." Nao told Shizuru harshly.

The summoner was surprised at what Nao said. When she turned to the raiders who are having a glaring contest, none of the three even moved from their spot or even noticed Shizuru. "Natsuki just got healed after being impaled by a deadly beast's horn and then this? This fight is pointless." She pointed out but Nao merely grunted and dusted away the dirt off her clothes.

"You can never understand us. This is just how we make sure the wounded are still able to fight." Nao told Shizuru before setting her sights back to her cousin. "Natsuki, we still owe the old man some money so don't crash this place as well." She reminded her cousin.

A grin still etched on Natsuki's face while she stretched her shoulders. True, they once destroyed the agency satellite branch at Bikanel desert after clearing a desert worm infestation and they were forced to pay for the repairs. So far, only a few more thousand gil left and they'll be fully paid. "Well then let's take this somewhere –"

"FIENDS! FIENDS ATTACKING THE CARAVANS!" a civilian stumbled inside the agency that disturbed Natsuki's sentence. All raiders looked at the sweating terrified civilian and the door of the agency suddenly burst into bits and pieces. Those who are near the door ducked down with their arms covering their head as protection while the other raiders jumped away from the entranced line.

A loud roar filled the room after the door was mowed down. Before the raiders is a midnight colored muscular fiend who is down on all fours and looking around the agency. Its massive body was enough to fill half of the room and its sharp teeth showed as it growled.

"Is that your pet Kruger?" Reito asked with a raised brow. The color scheme and the rowdy demeanor of the fiend fit perfectly to be Natsuki's pet. Natsuki rolled her eyes at Reito's failed attempt to make a joke.

"Behemoth!" one of the low-ranking raiders shouted. The fiend growled loud and raised clawed paw/fingers, readying to strike at the nearest human before it. The civilian, who was the person next to the rabid fiend, scampered weakly away from the strike range in hope of escape. But with the massive arm of the fiend, the civilian was not able to escape the long attacking area. Readying for his death, the civilian closed his eyes tightly and squeaked in fear.

Instead of a wet rapturing sound and the splatter of the red liquid, a sound of a pained howl and steel filled the area. It was not a surprise that Lightning was able to stop the strike with her unfolded gunblade since she is known to be the fastest of all the raiders. What surprised everyone was the other crashing sounds from the wooden wall and seven smaller Behemoths came roaring inside the agency.

The other raiders screamed in horror as they have never encountered such beasts in the Moonflow branch. Some of them had never encountered the said beast in a fight and usually avoid any battle with it.

Slashing the open palm of the fiend to distract it, Lightning turned to the low-ranking raiders and glared at them. "Help the other civilians and stay away from here! You will just get in our way! This is Behemoth King and those who are not the SeeD, l'Cie, SOLDIER and the bumbling cousins should get out!" Lightning ordered and the raiders who are being addressed at hastily ran away from the agency to aid the civilians.

"Guess our little pow-wow was cut short." Natsuki commented dryly, watching how the Behemoth King was growling at them together with the other Behemoth species. A sword was thrown to her way and she skillfully caught it with her right hand and her left grabbed on the pistol that was thrown to her. "Thanks spider!" she thanked her cousin who threw the weapons at her. A smile crept on her face when she noticed it was her weapon.

"Don't want you having a second healing session. I don't want my girlfriend to be overly exhausted tonight and yours to be unleashing her pets on me if I didn't make sure you are well equipped." She grinned and pulled down her goggles. "Speaking of girlfriend-" her head craned to her left where Reito already took out his rapier and Shizuru behind him holding her red naginata. "Didn't Lightning said to leave the agency to us?" she asked the summoner and her guardian.

"Ara, I don't want you to have all the fun." Shizuru smiled at Nao and faced back to the fiends. Her hold on the red-bladed naginata was firm and pointed at a random Behemoth kind. The blade glinted, indicating its sharpness.

With a red spear twirling in the air and caught by the skillful hands of Fang with the tip pointed at the fiends, the second-in-command of the l'cie team laughed loudly. "Man o man! Who ever thought we be fightin' alongside again. To add up we are with the famous Shizuru Viola." A knock on her head stopped her laughter and she gave Lightning a wide grin. "Face it Sunshine, you like fightin' with everyone."

Lightning scowled and snapped her fingers which caused a lightning bolt to appear above and strike her whole body. Everyone ignored the self-inflicted magic while the Fuukan citizens turned to Lightning who now stood with her wardrobe changed drastically. Now dressed in a silver and gold Valkyrie-like suit of armor with a shield on her right arm, Lightning now resembled a knight from the olden times. Her gunblade changed which now resembled a normal sword and being held by her left hand. With her right hand atop of her chest plate, her once was closed eyes slowly opened and she gave the Behemoth before her a threatening look. "Etro guide us." She held on her sword and pointed it to the Behemoth.

Fang let out a wolfwhistle when she saw the armor change of the pinkette. "Too bad it's not her red armor. I would love to see a few more skin than that." She teased, eyeing Lightning's body. This was halted when a small bolt of lightning was shot towards her and she instantly turn back to facing the Behemoths.

"Never cease to be flashy." Vanille said as she unfolded her weapon, a binding rod. A wide smile was plastered on her face while she stood behind Fang who was giving a protective stance over her.

A crack of the whip from the left area of the agency filled the air, a loud click sound and a few swishing sounds along with it. Two of the SeeD team prepared themselves to face off the Behemoths before them. "This reminds me of the time we visited Island closes to Hell." Quistis commented as a joke.

Squall merely shook his head and held on his gunblade. "You and I remember that event very differently."

"Yeah. First off, there were no tattooed fiends there. And second, even if there were Behemoths there, they won't be looking like the Grand Pulse Behemoths." Rinoa chimed in. On her left forearm is an eight circular-winged weapon that is firmly strapped on it.

A hollow wind cut echoed at the right area of the agency followed by a loud laugh and a gentle chuckle. Zack, carrying a blackish two-handed sword that stretches as the same as his height, swished the sword like it was just a stick. "Too bad Cloud isn't here. I bet he'll like a few warmups with these dogs." He grinned at his girlfriend.

Aerith chuckled and gave Zack a kiss at his cheek before standing behind him and readying her healing spells. "I bet. Add up Barret to compete. Now be a dear and finish this up?" she clasped her hands and began to silently pray.

The Behemoths, with the Behemoth King at the center, roared loudly and readied itself to attack again. All high ranked raiders and the Guardian/Summoner combo stood before them with an air of confidence that they would win.

"Ready?" Natsuki asked. She bent down a bit, with her right leg bended forward and her left leg stepping backward, and held her sword down and gun pointed at the Behemoth King.

A chorus of answers filled the room and such response gave them all goose bumps due to excitement. With different styles being shown, Natsuki let out a loud cheer and pushed forward to charge at the Behemoth King. "Raiders Go!"

**-Enter 'Guren no Yumiya' by Linked Horizon, OST Shigeki no Kyojin- **

_Seid ihr das Essen? Nein, wir sind der Jäger!_

_Feuerroter Pfeil und Bogen_

_Fumareta hana no namae mo shirazu ni_

_Chi ni ochita tori wa kaze o machiwabiru_

_Inotta tokoro de nani mo kawaranai_

_Ima o kaeru no wa tatakau kakugo da_

Natsuki attacked first by firing her gun at the Behemoth king with ice ammo. The large Behemoth blocked the attack by it using its massive forearm. The blunette clicked her tongue and made a back flip as soon as the fiend slammed its clawed hand on the spot she was stood. She slashed upward the hand of the beast which caused the Behemoth King to retract its limb and growl at Natsuki. "Hard skinned ass!" she shouted and fired another set of ice bullets at the eyes of the beast.

"Mutt down!" Nao shouted from behind and immediately, Natsuki ducked down in time when a searing ball of fire flew atop of her head. The flame burned a few strands of her hair and she immediately glared at cousin who played ignorance at the misfire and grinned at her. Both of them jumped sideways when the large Behemoth King swiped its clawed hands on their way.

**Shikabane fumikoete**

**Susumu ishi o warau buta yo**

**Kachiku no annei kyogi no hanei**

**Shiseru garou no jiyuu o!**

"Less playing around and more fighting! These dogs are wrecking the place!" Lightning ordered. She jumped up to a grey colored behemoth and slashed one of its horns and the fiend roared loudly. With a back flip to avoid a clawed swipe from one of the behemoths, she swiftly evaded being torn to shreds.

"Yeah Lightning! Less watching Kruger and more on killing!" Zack teased after hacking his buster sword at one of the Behemoth near him. His strike caused his targeted Behemoth to roar in pain and bluish fluid came out of the left side of its head. He instantly heard two sets of guns being fired at his direction and he evaded just in time to avoid having bullets through his head. "HEY!" he shouted at Lightning and Natsuki. He may have successfully evaded the bullets but a whizzing sound of metal went past the side of his head, missing it by a whole centimeter. He paled when he saw a red-hued chain blade beside his head and trailed it towards a pierced Behemoth's neck, killing it in the process.

"Ara, ara. Apologies for that Zack-san, that fiend was about to stomp on you." Shizuru said with a smile that emits a deathly aura. She pulled the blade whip back and it turned back into the blade of her naginata and she quickly dodged the strike coming from another behemoth. Reito covered for her by casting three balls of flame towards the fiend that caused it to roar in pain and moved back.

Zack dodged another swipe as he took a mental note on not to tease Natsuki about any woman if the summoner is around. Fang chuckled audibly and Aerith merely patted him at the back.

"Be thankful I didn't spear ya' there Zack. If not for that beautiful Aerith-eep!" Fang's words were cut short when a bolt of lightning landed a few meters away from her. She turned around to Lightning who was giving her a mean looking scowl while she was shielding herself using her round shield with a behemoth paw atop of it. "Kidding! Your beauty can be compared to a goddess!" Fang said immediately, seeing the scowl is scarier than the fiends.

_Torawareta kutsujoku wa hangeki no koushi da_

_Jouheki no sono kanata emono o hofuru Jäger_

_Hotobashiru shoudou ni sono mi o yakinagara_

_Tasogare ni hi o ugatsu guren no yumiya_

"Are you all done playing? We are in a middle of a battle here." Squall commented dryly as he thrust his gunblade towards the side of a behemoth and fired a bullet into it. But the thick body of the fiend contracted on the gunblade, trapping the weapon on its bleeding torso. "Stuck. Quisitis!" Squall called out his comrade.

The blonde beauty nodded her head and struck her whip on the eyes of the behemoth that trapped Squall's blade. With the fiend roaring in pain and head tilted up high, she cracked her whip and entangled it with Squall's blade. "Pull!" she told Squall who silently obliged. Both of them pulled the weapon out and left a slit hole with oozing blue colored fluid coming out of it.

_Ya o tsugae oikakeru yatsu wa nigasanai_

_Ya o hanachi oitsumeru kesshite nigasanai_

_Genkai made hikishiboru hachikiresou na tsuru_

_Yatsu ga ikitaeru made nando demo hanatsu_

"Sometimes I feel like we are the boring bunch." Rinoa commented with a pout. Her bladed disc was retracted and clicked on her wrist while she dodges a lunging behemoth on where she stood. The fiend turned around and prepared another attack but Rinoa intercepted it by casting Thundaga on it. "Whopsie! Sorry!" she taunted the fiend and stepped aside to give way to Squall who decided on using one of his limit break. Rezokuken – Lion Heart.

_Emono o korosu no wa dougu demo gijutsu demo nai_

_Togisumasareta omae jishin no satsui da_

Nao saw the flashy move of the brunette leader of SeeD and grinned. The Lion Heart is his signature move; striking opponents nineteen times while triggering the gun mechanism of its weapon. On the other side of the fight, both Fang and Lightning unleashed their signature moves aswell. Fang doing a high jump and throwing her spear on the fiend's head, pinning it down until it runs out of air. Lightning launches one of the behemoth and massively did an aerial carnage over it, slicing and triggering the gun mechanism on her weapon for each strike she did. After the 11th strike, the behemoth fell down to the waiting Vanille who just smiled at the beaten fiend. "I'm sorry mister monster but you destroyed our place." Vanille said and instantly casted Death upon it.

_Wir sind der Jäger! Honoo no you ni atsuku_

_Wir sind der Jäger! Kouri no you ni hiyayaka ni_

_Wir sind der Jäger! Onore o ya ni komete_

_Wir sind der Jäger! Subete o tsuranuiteyuke_

"Way to go Van! I knew you are a badass outside of bed too!" Nao teased which earned her an oncoming lunge attack from Fang. She ducked down and heard a cry of pain from a behemoth behind her that she didn't noticed. "Err thanks sis."

Fang growled at Nao and retracted her spear, letting the blood drip on Nao's face. "Not your sis yet." She told Nao and jump back to aid lightning.

Natsuki snickered after watching her cousin feared the Oerban huntress while she fired several bullets at one of the behemoth. She smirked and began to barrage the behemoth with element-covered bullets and ending its life with a quick sword draw, cutting the head of the beast.

Zack smirked after witnessing the moves of his comrades. She showed Aerith a wide smile before performing half of Squall's Lion Heart move and the last six strikes copied from Lightning's Army of One technique. He laughed loudly when the behemoth slumped down on the wooden floor. "That's how it's done!"

Lightning and Squall both shook their heads at Zack's antics_. 'Conniving mimic.'_ Both of them thought, hating the skill of the black-haired mercenary. The Digital Mind Wave.

_Angriff auf die Titanen_

_Der Junge von einst wird bald zum Schwert greifen_

With only three remaining behemoths left, all of them felt like it would finally an easy break for them. Aside from Vanille that is. The Dia casted an all-out cure called 'Curaja' and eyed the Behemoth King like a hawk. Fang tilted her head when she saw how her sister was acting cautiously. "What'cha worryin' Van?" she asked the healer.

_Wer nur seine Machtlosigkeit beklagt kann nichts verändern_

_Der Junge von einst wird bald das Schwarze Schwert ergreifen_

_Hass und Zorn sind eine zweischneidige Klinge_

_Bald eines Tages wird er dem Schicksal die Zähne zeigen _

Vanille frowned and held her weapon tightly. "I just remembered something." Vanille said in a grim manner. Everyone turned their gaze on her and was surprised with her shocked expression. "The fiends are Gran Pulse Behemoth! FANG!"

_Nanika o kaeru koto ga dekiru no wa_

_Nanika o suteru koto ga dekiru mono_

_Nanihitotsu risuku nado seowanai mama de_

_Nanika ga kanau nado _

Everyone was surprised when the three beaten down fiends glowed and suddenly standing on its hind legs. Their horns that trailed down to their backs were pulled out and became swords that they held on their hands. The three fiends roared ferociously and set their sights on the humans before them.

"Uh oh…" Zack groaned and scratched the back of his head. Aerith just patted her boyfriend and gave an encouraging kiss at his cheek. This made him smile and he immediately did some squats, showing his enthusiasm. "This doesn't look good, guys."

Fang on the other hand ruffled her hair irritably after seeing the fiends go from four paws to bipedal. "For the love of the maker! Tis' won't be easy." She whined. Lightning merely grunted and kept her guarding stance.

Rinoa stood behind Squall who took a defensive stance. "Just leave it to the Pulsians* to have a weird genetically enhanced fiends." She teased which earned her a smack at her shoulder by Quistis. "Sorry Fang and Vanille. Not your fault your fiends are on steroids."

_Angu no soutei tada no gen'ei_

_Ima wa mubou na yuuki mo_

_Jiyuu no senpei kake no kousei_

_Hashiru dorei ni shouri o!_

Nao and Natsuki huffed and felt that the fight would be in vain if they won't do anything else. With quick thinking, Nao told her co-raiders to deal with the left smaller behemoth while she and her cousin, along with Shizuru and Reito, would deal the right, leaving the King of Behemoths until they defeat the other two. She then turned to the Fuukan citizens behind them and gave Reito a piercing glare. "Don't get in our way." She told them and looked back at the fiends.

"Julia still has her plate on?" Natsuki asked her cousin, eyeing the beasts carefully and dodging the strikes. Their current surroundings were now reduced to piles of rubbish. If they kept fighting inside the agency, nothing would be left of it.

"Yeah. Yours is stuck by the way." Nao replied, jumping backward to avoid the cleaving sword directed at her.

Natsuki smiled dastardly and came up with a plan. "Leonhart! Claire! Let's take this outside!" She announced. Casting ice 3 (equivalent to Blizzaga*) on her arms, she ran towards her targeted behemoth and pushed it backward, toppling both of them outside the agency. The other team pushed their target out aswell and the Behemoth king followed suit.

_Kaserareta fujouri wa shingeki no koushi da_

_Ubawareta sono chihei sekai o nozomu Eren_

_Tomedonaki shoudou ni sono mi o okasare nagara_

_Yoiyami ni shi o hakobu meifu no yumiya_

_Seid ihr das Essen? Nein, wir sind der Jäger!_

**-End music- **

Outside, fiends scattered everywhere. The low ranking raiders dealt with weaker fiends while the S ranks and above dealt with the ferocious ones. It answered the silent questions of SeeD and l'Cie on where their team was. But none of the fiends dared to interfere with the Behemoth fight.

Shizuru and Reito were amazed at how the beasts were to fully heal themselves, as if their previous fights were round one and before them is round two. Both hoped that there won't be round three. Reito audibly gulped and looked down to his ward who kept a fearless expression. A smile crept up his lips, amazed at Shizuru's confidence. "Mi'lady?" he called out to his ward that looked up to him with a curious expression. "Amazing, aren't they?" she said to him and he merely cocked his head and watched how the raiders did their work. He merely nodded his head and showed Shizuru a toothy smile. "Care to show them as well how we in Fuuka deal with such pets?" Shizuru beamed a smile at Reito and in an instant; the guardian took position in front of his summoner. He began to cast a wall in front of her while Shizuru clasped her hands and closed her eyes. "Be careful, mi'lady."

**- Enter 'Salva Nos' by Yuki Kajiura and FictionJunction -**

_Dominus Deus_

_exaudi nos et miserere_

_exaudi, Dominus_

Shizuru stretched her arms forward while holding her naginata and opened her eyes to watch the fiend being subdued by the raiders. Both ends of the naginata ignited with flames and Shizuru slowly twirled the weapon around, flames running along the pole of the weapon. With Natsuki, now fighting with Duran, saw the summoning movement, her eyes went wide in surprise. She knows who Shizuru was summoning. The behemoth Natsuki was battling was then tied down by the web of Julia and instantly, Natsuki ordered Duran to fire Chrome shells at the fiend while she and Nao dealt the final blow, killing the fiend.

_Dona nobis pacem_

_et salva nos a hostibus_

_Salva nos, Deus_

The flames ran down to the ground and spread out in a glyph pattern. Shizuru braced herself from the oncoming stagnant quake and without a second less, the ground she kneel upon shook and the chunk of land she stood on was raised up. A humanoid-like Elemental erupted from the flaming ground, breaking the land that Shizuru stood. Natsuki was about to rescue Shizuru when the fiery Elemental caught the summoner by its arms and held her safely as then landed on the ground. "Will you, help us?" Shizuru asked and the Elemental roared wildly.

Natsuki and Nao fought the Behemoth King head on after they had defeated their share of the fiend. It served as a double purpose for them. One is to deal massive damage on it and the other is to make sure whatever Shizuru is summoning, will be summoned. By the side of the summoner, Reito casted triple ultima* at the Behemoth King to serve as a distraction as well.

_Dominus exaudi nos_

_Dominus miserere_

_dona nobis pacem_

_Sanctus, Gloria _

But instead of leaving the battle area, Shizuru raised her naginata and twirled it a bit faster than before. The sky rumbled like thunder and a glyph appeared on the blue sky for a few seconds before a massive midnight colored Elemental broke through the glyph and fell down until it cartwheeled and landed on the ground, wings spread apart.

_Dona nobis pacem_

_e dona eis requiem_

_inter oves locum_

_voca me cum benedictis_

_Pie Jesu Domine, dona eis requiem_

_Dominus Deus, Sanctus, Gloria_

**-End Music-**

**-Enter 'Hear Our Prayer' by Yuki Kajiura-**

It was a shock to the raiders around the area aside from Natsuki and Nao. The Behemoth king, binded by Julia's web, struggled hard enough to snap the tight web apart and threw the machine away, taking Duran along with it. With the large sword on its clawed hands, it swings it towards Shizuru, breaking the wall spell and creating a massive explosion.

"Oh my…" Shizuru spoke as the Elemental roared loudly and crossed its clawed hands. This Elemental is called Bahamut.

With Bahamut's appearance, Fang topple down in surprise while the other l'Cie members looked startled as well. Sure Fang can summon the said Elemental as well, but compared to Shizuru, hers is a fusion of machine and Elemental. Much like Natsuki's and Nao's work but minus the ability of not draining the summoner's mana pool.

"Why I'll be. She tamed th't bugger." Fang said in awe as she defended from the heavy strike of the behemoth infront of her team and the SeeD's team. Lightning, who had chopped off the head of the behemoth they are fighting, struck her sword on the fallen body of the fiend and watched in surprise at the sight before her. It was indeed Bahamut, but leaner and less machina.

Vanille recognizes the purple-ish Elemental. She saw it once before when Fang stumbled upon the temple of Bahamut in the ruins near Oerba. It was the initial form of Fang's summon. The Elemental Bahamut of Oerba.

"Whoa! Check that out!" Zack exclaimed, astonished at the two buffed up Elementals that stood before the Behemoth King. With the fiend they were battling is now dead, they stop their assault and watched how majestically Shizuru was summoning her Elementals.

Quistis stopped her assault and used her scan ability towards Shizuru. It was indeed shocking to her when she first used the ability on the summoner and using it again surprised her.

"Quistis, what do you see?" Squall asked his teammate. When he saw Quistis stared at the summoner, he knew right away that she was using her scan ability.

"She's not done yet." Quistis said in a louder voice than she intended to be.

The raiders, minus Nao and Natsuki, turned to Quistis. "What do you mean she's not done yet?" all of the S plus ranked raiders asked in unison. But before Quistis could answer, they all heard the loud rattling of chains and when they looked around on the source of the sound, both Natsuki and Nao have already casted the wall* magic on everyone.

"I will share your pain." Shizuru said and Anima was pulled from the dimensional circle on the ground roared wildly as it sways its bounded body from side to side.

With now three Elementals in the field, Shizuru stepped back from the fiends and Reito stood beside her, casting their own wall magic. From there, Shizuru panted a bit while her guardian encircled his arms around her waist and supported her to stand up. She whispered a thank you at him before she weakly looked at her Elementals. All of them stood before the Behemoth King, roaring and growling at it.

Natsuki watched how the three Elementals awaited for Shizuru's orders to attack. Her emerald eyes watched how each Elemental stood majestically before the fiend. While she sees the Elementals as swords for protection, somehow she can see a thin white line from the three Elementals connecting to Shizuru's chest.

_'Can you see it?'_ Duran's voice echoed inside Natsuki's head. Natsuki closed her eyes and her consciousness drifted her into a white space where the human form of Duran was standing and his hands on top of his pistols. _'The white lining?'_ Natsuki asked back and the man before him nodded his head.

_'Yes. That is what ties the Elemental to its summoner. It is he thread that siphons the energy of the summoner and transfers to the Elemental'_ Duran explained_. 'I am impressed though. Your summoner managed to rest for a few hours but still she can give off this much energy.'_

Natsuki grinned. _'Ofcourse. She is the most talented summoner there is.'_

While Duran and Natsuki converse in her mind, the fight of the Elementals and the King of Behemoths took place. Shizuru, now sitting proudly at the shoulder of Ifrit, watched how the fiend tried to deal damage on Anima while Bahamut kept on launching twin dark orbs with sparks of electricity to the surrounding fiends in the Moonflow area.

The SS ranks are in awe. With their respective teammates joining them after Bahamut completely obliterated the other fiends, they had either their eyes wide open in surprise or jaws slacked open at how powerful the Elementals are. Aside from Quistis that is who was more astonished at how Shizuru handled such beasts.

"She is amazing." Quistis commented, watching how Ifrit protected Shizuru while the woman is perched on its toned shoulder. "She's more talented than any summoner I know."

Fang clicked her tongue and leaned back to Aerith who stood behind her while Zack was being tended by Vanille. "I know Bahamut. I remember while praying to his temple how I heard his voice and said that a woman was able to gain his power. I never knew it was that summoner." She said with a hint of envy. Before she obtained Bahamut, she had to fight its Elemental form when Natsuki's experiment failed and after it, she went to its temple and prayed for help. The said fiend almost cost her right arm if not for Vanille's emergency heal. The scars, one covered with an ice-like burn on her shoulder and above it is a scar running on her shoulder joint, are reminders to her that even as a huntress-slash-engineer, there are fiends far stronger than her. She snuggled closer to the soft and warm body of Aerith who the latter just giggled and tapped Fang's head. The huntress looked up to the flowergirl (Nickname that everyone calls Aerith since she was a flower seller at Midgard city) with a laze smile on her face. "Yah beautiful flowergirl?" she teased, earning her another set of giggles from Aerith.

"Charmer as always. But you should duck." Aerith said, smiling at Fang while she pointed her pointer finger forward.

Before Fang could even duck, a loud slap resonated in her ear and the stinging pain seared across her left cheek. "For the love of Etro?!" she shouted and cupped her now red cheek. The others laughed at her while she nursed her redden cheek.

Lightning retracted her hand and growled at Fang. "Serves you right." She told the dark-skinned beauty before returning her sights to the fight. Shizuru was now on the ground and the three Elementals were nowhere in sight. She looked from left to right and when she noticed that the lower ranked raiders had cleared the area, she looked up and saw Ifrit up in the air, carrying 2 huge fireballs, Bahamut on the other hand was a few meters away from them, all claws buried on the ground and its mouth was accumulating a ball of energy while the golden wheel on its back spun around.

"Ifrit, Hellfire. Bahamut, Megaflare." Shizuru commanded. The two Elementals roared wildly and obeyed their summoner.

The guardian of the flames released the massive fireballs on the surrounding fiends and dove down to the ground, following its attack by digging its claws on the ground and lifting the whole space that the smaller fiends stood on, flipping it upside down. The fiends were squashed under the ground, ending their existence.

Bahamut obeyed Shizuru and released the gathered energy on its mouth like a huge laser, wiping anything in its path down to dust. The raiders who are in Bahamut's range quickly ran away and took cover on the farthest area they can get.

Anima on the otherhand was still nowhere to be found. The SS ranked raiders all wondered where the said Elemental is.

Natsuki then opened her eyes and crossed her arms. It was the same time that the Behemoth King and Anima was nowhere to be found while Bahamut and Ifrit kneeled in front of Shizuru. "Is the fight over? That fast? I just closed my eyes for a few minutes." Natsuki asked her cousin who was smirking like a maniac.

"Heh! Figures, I have been calling you a few times now but you didn't respond." Nao answered and used her thumb to point at Shizuru who was smiling and patting Ifrit's head after the dark-skinned Elemental showed the summoner a fanged grin. "Your summoner over there didn't hold back. She unleashed her Elemental's massive power right out of the bat." Nao said to her cousin. Then the direction of her thumb was pointed at the SS rank raiders who have a baffled look on their faces. "Lightning and the others couldn't believe how the Behemoth King disappeared with Anima while Bahamut and Ifrit cleared out the small fry around the area." The missing SS rank members are now grouped along their teammates, mumbling words they couldn't hear from their range.

Natsuki can picture what Nao told her. How the monstrous Anima probably pulled the Behemoth King on the crimson oblivion and did god knows what while Bahamut and Ifrit blasting high-powered lasers and giant meteor on its enemies. "I'm betting the ground would-"

Before Natsuki could've finished her sentence, the ground opened a dimensional portal and spit the lifeless body of the Behemoth King out. "Ah! There it is." Natsuki said flatly. She saw how Shizuru bowed before the three Elemental, thanking them for their assistance and dismissing them. But before Ifrit was dismissed, its golden eyes looked at her emerald eyes. The Elemental stared at her, grinning, before he completely disappeared. "That was awkward. Guess Ifrit must've remembered me." She mused.

Nao secretly eyed her cousin by the corner of her eyes. She saw how the fire Elemental took notice on the blunette and wondered if her cousin even knew the real reason why the Elemental took notice on her.

**-End Music-**

With all the raging fiends completely wiped out, all the raiders ranking lower than SS cheered at their victory. They congratulated each other and praised the excellence of the raiders who have dealt more damage than anyone. The SS and above ranked raiders. They bombarded them with praises and questions on how they stood before a pack of Behemoths and still able to defeat them unscathed.

The SeeD, naming Selphie and Irvine, took crowd control while the other SS raiders all watched Shizuru and Reito who were conversing between themselves and Reito kept on wiping Shizuru's forehead with a white cloth he took out from his pocket.

"Don't you feel tad jealous Kruger?" Fang asked with a wide grin. She nudged the sides of Natsuki and winked at her teasingly. Natsuki, now gathered with the SS ranked raiders, growled at Fang for her comment and elbowed the Pulsian's side, making her cough in surprise. With such actions, the two are now in a heated verbal and minor physical banter.

Nao laughed at her cousin and Fang's antics. And when she saw Lightning, now in her normal clothing, watching the banter between Natsuki and Fang, gave her a devious idea. She decided to push her cousin forward which made the blunette stumble and land face first at the softness of Lightning's chest. Her face was now in-between the voluptuous mounds of the pinkette which caused the two of them to blush furiously. "Nice one there mutt! You claiming your victory prize now? Hey should we add a victory fanfare for that?" she teased, grinning wildly.

All eyes are now set on Natsuki and Lightning. The raiders are used to Nao's tricks, hence they are not much surprise when they see such sights. Though some raiders still find it hot at how the two ice beauties can look good together. But those who are not used to such sights, naming Shizuru and Reito, found it surprising. Shizuru being the most surprised of all. It took all of her will power not to summon another Elemental and unleashed it on the woman called Lightning.

"Kruger!" Fang shouted in jealousy. She was about to lunge at the blunette but was stopped by Vanille who pointed at Shizuru. Fang looked at the brunette summoner and understood what the Dia meant.

"Nat-su-ki~ Care to push away from Lightning-san's bossom before I do it for you." Shizuru said in a poison laced cheery tone and adding a smile that can mean she would kill you in an instant.

Natsuki heard Shizuru and like a trained snow wolf, she pushed away from the pinkette. But instead of making the situation better, it turned to worse when her hands were placed on Lightning's chest and made Lightning moan for a second before realizing what she reacted and took the offending limbs and performed an overhand throw, flinging Natsuki's body to the ground. "Dammit!" Natsuki moaned in pain when her back landed on the rocky ground. "It was an accident Claire!" Natsuki shouted at the blushing pinkette who was now in the arms of Fang. Everyone laughed, including Fang and Shizuru, at the sudden turn of events.

All their laughter died down when a sudden shout from the branch leader erupted from the ruined satellite branch. "Who the hell fought inside the agency?!" Cid shouted in anger from the distant satellite agency branch.

Like a dinner bell, all raiders ran away when they heard Cid, leaving Natsuki on the ground and the Fuukan citizens.

"KRUGEEERR!"

With both eyes wide open in fear, Natsuki immediately stood up and with a quick movement; she took Shizuru in her arms and ran away. "Don't let that old man catch you Kanzaki! If you value your money, don't let him catch you!" she shouted and ran towards the eastern riverbed.

Reito tilted his head in confusion. It was clearly the work of the fiends why the agency was in ruins but everyone ran away like some man-eating unknown fiend was after them. But since they were raiders, a man like Cid can be handled by them, or so he thought. Before he was able to follow his summoner and Natsuki, a hand was placed on his shoulder and held him down on his spot.

"You did this boy?" Cid asked in a grim tone. Reito shook his head and looked behind him, only to see Cid looking like a mixture of mad, pissed and 'im gonna make you pay'. "You're the only one here, so I am betting it's you. Either rebuild my branch or payup!"

Reito now knew why the raiders feared Cid more than facing the fiends.

* * *

_Outside the dream world, life can be harsh, even cruel, but it is life._ -** Auron, Final Fantasy X**

* * *

**Final Fantasy Encylopedia:**

**Pulsians: Refers to the inhabitants of Gran Pulse. **

**Wall: A magic ability that is a combination of protect and shell. **

**Protect: A magic ability that reduces physical damage.**

**Shell: A magic ability that reduces magic-based damage.**

**Ice 3/Blizzaga: highest form of blizzaga/ice magic.**

**Ultima: Non-elemental black magic and considered as one of the strongest magic in FF series**

**Beastiary:**

**Behemoth: ****large, purple, canine-esque creatures with two bull-like horns and flowing manes. Behemoths may be quadrupedal or bipedal, and when bipedal, often wield weapons.**


End file.
